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WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA 


THE    SCRIBNER    SERIES 
FOR     YOUNG    PEOPLE 

EACH  WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  COLOR 


THE  MODERN  VIKINGS 

By  H.  H.  Boyesen 
SARA  CREWE,  Or  What  Happened  at  Miss  Minchin's 

By  Frances  Hodgson  Burnett 
WILL  SHAKESPEARE'S  LITTLE  LAD 

By  Imogen  Clark 

THE  BOY  SCOUT  and  Other  Stories  for  Boys 
STORIES  FOR  BOYS 

By  Richard  Harding  Davis 
EANS  BRINKER,  Or  the  Silver  Skates 

By  Mary  Mapes  Dodge 
THE  HOOSIER  SCHOOL-BOY 

By  Edward  Eggleston 
THE  COURT  OF  KING  ARTHUR 

Br  William  Henry  Frost 
WITH  LEE  IN  VIRGINIA 
WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA 
REDSKIN  AND  COW-BOY 

By  G.  A.  Henty 
AT  WAR  WITH  PONTIAC 

By  Kirk  Munroe 
TOMMY  TROT'S   VISIT  TO   SANTA    CLAUS    and 
A  CAPTURED  SANTA  CLAUS 

By  Thomas  Nelson  Page 
BOYS  OF  ST.  TIMOTHY'S 

By  Arthur  Stanwood  Pier 
KIDNAPPED 
TREASURE  ISLAND 

By  Robert  Louis  Stevenson 
AROUND  THE  WORLD  IN  EIGHTY  DAYS 
A  JOURNEY  TO  THE  CENTRE  OF  THE  EARTH  J 
FROM  THE  EARTH  TO  THE  MOON 
TWENTY  THOUSAND  LEAGUES  UNDER  THE  SEA 

By  Jules  Verne 
ON  THE  OLD  KEARSARGE 

By  C.  T.  Brady 
THE  BOY  SETTLERS 
THE  BOYS  OF  FAHtPORT 

By  Noah  Brooks 
THE  CONSCRIPT  OF  1813 

By  Erckmann-Ch/.trian 
THE  STEAM-SHOVEL  MAN 

By  R.  D.  Paine 
THE  MOUNTAIN  DP/IDE 

By  Frank  H.  Spearman 
THE  ADVENTURES  OF  A  FRESHMAN 

By  J.  L.  Williams 


CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 


"Now,  it  is  our  turn,"  Rogers  said. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00022245562 


WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA 


OB 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT 


BY 


G.  A.  HENTY 


Author  of  "  With  Clive  in  India"  ;  4I  The  Lion  of  the  North  "  ;  "In  Freedom' a  Cause* 
' '  The  Dragon  and  the  Kaven  "  ;  "By  Sheer  Pluck  "  ;  "  Facing  Death ' '  ;  &c. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  GORDON  BROWNE 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
1920 


PKEFACE. 


My  dear  Lads  : 

In  the  present  volume  I  have  endeavored  to  give  the 
details  of  the  principal  events  in  a  struggle  whose  import- 
ance can  hardly  be  overrated.  At  its  commencement  the 
English  occupied  a  mere  p  itch  of  land  on  the  eastern  sea- 
board of  America,  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  the  French, 
who  occupied  not  only  Canada  in  the  north  and  Louisiana 
in  the  south,  but  possessed  a  chain  of  posts  connecting 
them,  so  cutting  off  the  English  from  all  access  to  the  vast 
countries  of  the  west. 

On  the  issues  of  that  struggle  depended  not  only  the 
destiny  of  Canada,  but  of  the  whole  of  North  America  and, 
to  a  large  extent,  that  of  the  two  mother  countries.  When 
the  contest  began  the  chances  of  France  becoming  the 
great  colonizing  empire  of  the  world  were  as  good  as  those 
of  England.  Not  only  did  she  hold  far  larger  territories 
in  America  than  did  England,  but  she  had  rich  colonies 
in  the  West  Indies  where  the  flag  of  England  was  at  that 
time  hardly  represented,  and  her  prospects  in  India  were 
better  than  our  own.  At  that  time,  too,  she  disputed  with 
us  on  equal  terms  the  empire  of  the  sea. 

The  loss  of  her  North  American  provinces  turned  the 
scale.  With  the  monopoly  of  such  a  market  the  commerce 
of  England  increased  enormously,  and  with  her  commerce 
her  wealth  and  power  of  extension,  while  the  power  of 
France  was  proportionately  crippled.     It  is  true  that  in 

696748 


4  PREFACE. 

time  the  North  American  colonies,  with  the  exception  of 
Canada,  broke  away  from  their  connection  with  the  old 
country,  but  they  still  remained  English,  still  continued 
to  be  the  best  market  for  our  goods  and  manufactures. 

Never  was  the  short-sightedness  of  human  beings  shown 
more  distinctly  than  when  France  wasted  her  strength  and 
treasure  in  a  sterile  contest  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
and  permitted,  with  scarce  an  effort,  her  North  American 
colonies  to  be  torn  from  her. 

All  the  historical  details  of  the  war  have  been  drawn 
from  the  excellent  work  entitled  Montcalm  and  Wolfe,  by 
Mr.  Francis  Parkman,  and  from  the  detailed  history  of 
the  Louisbourg  and  Quebec  expeditions,  by  Major  Knox, 
who  served  under  Generals  Amherst  and  Wolfe. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

G.  A.  HENTY. 


COI^TEIsTTS. 


CHAP.  PAGE 

I.  A  Rescue, 7 

II.  The  Showman's  Grandchild, 24 

III.  The  Justice-room, 43 

IV.  The  Squire's  Granddaughter, 60 

V.  A  Quiet  Time .    .    .  77 

VI.  A  Storm, 96 

VII.  Pressed, 114 

VIII.  Discharged, 131 

IX.  The  Defeat  of  Braddock, 148 

X.  The  Fight  at  Lake  George, 165 

XI.  Scouting, =    .  183 

XII.  A  Commission, 200 

XIII.  An  Abortive  Attack, 219 

XIV.  Scouting  on  Lake  Champlain, 234 

'    XV.  Through  Many  Perils, 251 

XVI.  The  Massacre  at  Fort  William  Henry,    .    .    .  267 

XVII.   LOUISBOURG  AND  TlCONDEROGA, 284 

XVIII.  Quebec, 297 

XIX.  A  Dangerous  Expedition, 322 

XX.  The  Path  Down  the  Heights, 340 

XXI.  The  Capture  of  Quebec, 359 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


"  Now,  it  is  our  turn,"  Rogers  said Frontispiece 

FACJNQ 
PAGE 

Young  James  on  board  the  smuggler 116 

A  night  alarm  at  Fort  William  Henry .    222 

The  French  fire-ships  bear  down  on  the  British  ......    302 


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WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA; 

OR,   THE  WINNING   OF  A   CONTINENT. 


CHAPTEE   I. 


A   RESCUE. 


Most  of  the  towns  standing  on  our  sea-coast  have  suf- 
fered a  radical  change  in  the  course  of  the  last  century. 
Kailways  and  the  fashion  of  summer  holiday-making  have 
'  transformed  them  altogether,  and  great  towns  have  sprung 
up  where  fishing  villages  once  stood.  There  are  a  few 
places,  however,  which  seem  to  have  been  passed  by  by  the 
crowd.  The  number  yearly  becomes  smaller  as  the  iron 
roads  throw  out  fresh  branches.  With  the  advent  of  these 
comes  .the  speculative  builder,  rows  of  terraces  and  shops 
are  run  up,  promenades  are  made,  bathing-machines  and 
brass  bands  become  familiar  objects,  and  in  a  few  years  the 
original  Character  of  the  place  altogether  disappears. 

Sidmouth  for  a  long  time  was  passed  by  by  the  world  of 
holiday-makers.  East  and  west  of  her  great  changes  took 
place,  and  many  far  smaller  villages  became  fashionable 
sea-side  watering-places;  the  railway  which  passed  by  some 
twelve  miles  away  carried  its  tens  of  thousands  westward,but 
left  few  of  them  for  Sidmouth,  and  any  one  who  visited  the 


8  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

pretty  little  place  fifteen  years  back  would  have  seen  it 
almost  as  it  stood  when  our  story  opens  a  century  ago. 

There  are  few  places  in  England  with  a  fairer  site;  it 
lies  embosomed  in  the  hills  which  rise  sharply  on  either 
side  of  it,  while  behind  stretches  a  rich  undulating  country 
thickly  dotted  with  orchards  and  snug  homesteads,  with 
lanes  bright  with  wild  flowers  and  ferns,  with  high  hedges 
and  trees  meeting  overhead.  The  cold  breezes  which  ren- 
der so  bare  of  interest  the  walks  round  the  great  majority 
of  our  seaside  towns  pass  harmlessly  over  the  valley  of  the 
Sid,  where  the  vegetation  is  as  bright  and  luxuriant  as  if 
the  ocean  lay  leagues  away  instead  of  breaking  on  the  shore 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  front  line  of  houses. 

The  cliffs,  which  on  either  side  rise  from  the  water's  edge, 
are  neither  white  like  those  to  the  east,  nor  grey  as  are  the 
rugged  bulwarks  to  the  west.  They  are  of  a  deep  red, 
warm  and  pleasant  to  the  eye,  with  clumps  of  green  show- 
ing brightly  up  against  them  on  every  little  ledge  where 
vegetation  can  get  a  footing;  while  the  beach  is  neither 
pebble,  nor  rock,  nor  sand,  but  a  smooth  level  surface  slop- 
ing evenly  down,  hard  and  pleasant  to  walk  on  when  the 
sea  has  gone  down,  and  the  sun  has  dried  and  baked  it  for 
an  hour  or  two,  but  slippery  and  treacherous  when  freshly 
wetted,  for  the  red  cliffs  are  of  clay.  Those  who  sail  past 
in  a  boat  would  hardly  believe  that  this  is  so,  for  the  sun 
has  baked  its  face,  and  the  wind  dried  it  till  it  is  cracked 
and  seamed,  and  makes  a  brave  imitation  of  red  granite; 
but  the  clammy  ooze  when  the  sea  goes  down  tells  its  na- 
ture only  too  plainly,  and  Sidmouth  will  never  be  a  popular 
watering-place  for  children,  for  there  is  no  digging  sand 
castles  here,  and  a  fall  will  stain  light  dresses  and  pinafores 
a  ruddy  hue,  and  the  young  laborers  will  look  as  if  they 
had  been  at  work  in  a  brickfield. 

But  a  century  since  the  march  of  improvement  had  no- 
where begun,  and  there  were  few  larger  and  no  prettier 


THE  WINNING  OP  A  CONTINENT.  9 

sea-side  villages  on  the  coast  than  Sidmouth.  It  was  an 
afternoon  in  August;  the  sun  was  blazing  down  hotly, 
scarce  a  breath  of  wind  was  stirring,  and  the  tiny  waves 
broke  along  the  shore  with  a  low  rustle  like  that  of  falling 
leaves.  Some  fishermen  were  at  work  recaulking  a  boat 
hauled  up  on  the  shore,  others  were  laying  out  some  nets 
to  dry  in  the  sun;  some  fisherboys  were  lying  asleep  like 
dogs  basking  in  the  heat;  and  a  knot  of  lads  sitting  under 
the  shade  of  a  boat  were  discussing  with  some  warmth  the 
question  of  smuggling. 

"  What  do  you  say  to  it,  Jim  Walsham  ? "  one  of  the 
party  said,  looking  up  at  a  boy  some  twelve  years  old  who 
was  leaning  against  a  boat,  but  who  had  hitherto  taken  no 
part  in  the  discussion. 

"  There  is  no  doubt  that  it's  wrong/'  the  boy  said.  "  Not 
wrong  like  stealing,  and  lying,  and  that  sort  of  thing;  still 
it's  wrong  because  it's  against  the  law,  and  the  revenue 
men  if  they  come  upon  a  gang  landing  the  tubs  fight  with 
them,  and  if  any  are  killed  they  are  not  blamed  for  it,  so 
there  is  no  doubt  about  its  being  wrong.  Then  on  the 
other  hand  no  one  thinks  any  the  worse  of  the  men  that 
do  it,  and  there  is  scarce  a  one,  gentle  or  simple,  as  won't 
buy  some  of  the  stuff  if  he  gets  a  chance,  so  it  can't  be  so 
very  wrong.  It  must  be  great  fun  to  be  a  smuggler,  to  be 
always  dodging  the  king's  cutters,  and  running  cargoes 
under  the  nose  of  the  officers  ashore.  There  is  some  ex- 
citement in  a  life  like  that." 

"  There  is  plenty  of  excitement  in  fishing,"  one  of  the 
boys  said  sturdily.  "If  you  had  been  out  in  that  storm 
last  March  you  would  have  had  as  much  excitement  as  you 
liked.  For  twelve  hours  we  expected  to  go  down  every 
minute,  and  we  were  half  our  time  bailing  for  our  lives." 

An  approving  murmur  broke  from  the  others,  who  were 
all,  with  the  exception  of  the  one  addressed  as  Jim  Wal- 
sham, of  the  fisher  class.     His  clothing  differed  but  little 


10  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

from  that  of  the  rest;  his  dark  blue  pilot  trousers  were 
old  and  sea-stained,  his  hands  and  face  were  dyed  brown 
with  exposure  to  the  sun.  and  the  salt  water;  but  there 
was  something  in  his  manner  and  tone  of  voice  which 
showed  that  a  distinction  existed.  James  Walsham  was 
indeed  the  son  of  the  late  doctor  of  the  village,  who  had 
died  two  years  previously. 

Dr.  Walsham  had  been  clever  in  his  profession,  but  cir- 
cumstances were  against  him.  Sidmouth  and  its  neighbor- 
hood were  so  healthy  that  his  patients  were  few  and  far 
between,  and  when  he  died  of  injuries  received  from  being 
thrown  over  his  horse's  head  when  the  animal  one  night 
trod  on  a  stone  coming  down  the  hill  into  Sidmouth,  his 
widow  and  son  were  left  almost  penniless.  Mrs.  Walsham 
was  fortunately  an  energetic  woman,  and  a  fortnight  after 
her  husband's  death  she  went  round  among  the  tradesmen 
of  the  place  and  the  farmers  of  the  neighborhood,  and  an- 
nounced her  intention  of  opening  a  school  for  girls.  She 
had  received  a  good  education,  being  the  daughter  of  a 
clergyman,  and  she  soon  obtained  enough  pupils  to  enable 
her  to  pay  her  Avay  and  to  keep  up  the  pretty  home  in 
which  her  husband  lived  in  the  outskirts  of  Sidmouth. 

If  she  would  have  taken  boarders  she  could  have  obtained 
far  higher  terms,  for  good  schools  were  scnrce,  but  this  she 
would  not  do,  and  her  pupils  all  lived  within  distances 
where  they  could  walk  backward  and  forward  to  their 
homes.  Her  evenings  she  devoted  to  her  son,  and  though 
the  education  which  she  was  enabled  to  give  him  would  be 
considered  meagre  indeed  in  these  days  of  universal  cram- 
ming, he  learned  as  much  as  the  average  boy  of  the  period. 

He  would  have  learned  more  had  he  followed  her  desires, 
and  devoted  the  time  when  she  was  engaged  in  teaching 
to  his  books;  but  this  he  did  not  do;  for  a  few  hours  in 
the  day  he  would  work  vigorously  at  his  lessons,  the  rest 
of  his  time  he  spent  either  on  the  sea-shore  or  in  the  boats 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  11 

of  the  fishermen;  and  he  could  swim,  row,  or  handle  a  boat 
under  sail  in  all  weather  as  well  or  better  than  any  lad  in 
the  village  of  his  own  age. 

His  disposition  was  a  happy  one,  and  he  was  a  general 
favorite  among  the  boatmen.  He  had  not  as  yet  made  up 
his  mind  as  to  his  future.  His  mother  wanted  him  to  fol- 
low his  father's  profession;  he  himself  longed  to  go  to  sea, 
but  he  had  promised  his  mother  that  he  would  never  do 
so  without  her  consent,  and  that  consent  he  had  no  hope 
of  obtaining. 

The  better-class  people  in  the  village  shook  their  heads 
gravely  over  James  Walsham,  and  prophesied  no  good 
things  of  him.  They  considered  that  he  demeaned  himself 
greatly  by  association  with  the  fisherboys,  and  more  than 
once  he  had  fallen  into  disgrace  with  the  more  quiet-minded 
of  the  inhabitants  by  mischievous  pranks.  His  reputa- 
tion that  way  once  established,  every  bit  of  mischief  in  the 
place  which  could  not  be  clearly  traced  to  some  one  else 
was  put  down  to  him,  and  as  he  was  not  one  who  would 
peach  upon  others  to  save  himself,  he  was  seldom  in  a  posi- 
tion to  prove  his  innocence. 

The  parson  had  once  called  upon  Mrs.  Walsham,  and 
had  talked  to  her  gravely  over  her  son's  delinquencies,  but 
his  success  had  not  been  equal  to  his  anticipations.  Mrs. 
Walsham  had  stood  up  warmly  for  her  son. 

"  The  boy  may  get  into  mischief  sometimes,  Mr.  Allanby, 
but  it  is  the  nature  of  boys  to  do  so.  James  is  a  good  boy, 
upright  and  honorable,  and  would  not  tell  a  lie  under  any 
consideration.  What  is  he  to  do  ?  If  I  could  afford  to 
send  him  to  a  good  school  it  would  be  a  different  thing, 
but  that  you  know  I  cannot  do.  From  nine  in  the  morn- 
ing until  five  in  the  afternoon  my  time  is  occupied  by 
teaching,  and  I  cannot  expect,  nor  do  I  wish,  that  he  should 
sit  moping  indoors  all  day.  He  had  far  better  be  out  in 
the  boats  with  the  fishermen  than  be  hanging  about  the 


12  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

place  doing  nothing.  If  anything  happened  to  me  before 
he  is  started  in  life  there  would  be  nothing  for  him  but  to 
take  to  the  sea.  I  am  laying  by  a  little  money  every  month, 
and  if  I  live  for  another  year  there  will  be  enough  to  buy  him 
a  fishing-boat  and  nets.  I  trust  that  it  may  not  come  to 
that,  but  I  see  nothing  derogatory  in  his  earning  an  honest 
living  with  his  own  hands;  he  will  always  be  something 
better  than  a  common  fisherman.  The  education  I  have 
striven  to  give  him,  and  his  knowledge  that  he  was  born  a 
gentleman  will  nerve  him  to  try  and  rise.  As  to  what  you 
say  about  mischief,  so  far  as  I  know  all  boys  are  mischiev- 
ous. I  know  that  my  own  brothers  were  always  getting 
into  scrapes,  and  I  have  no  doubt,  Mr.  Allanby,  that  when 
you  look  back  upon  your  own  boyhood  you  will  see  that 
you  were  not  an  exception  to  the  general  rule/' 

Mr.  Allanby  smiled.  He  had  come  rather  against  his 
own  inclinations;  but  his  wife  had  urged  him  to  speak  to 
Mrs.  Walsham,  her  temper  being  ruffled  by  the  disappear- 
ance of  two  favorite  pigeons,  whose  loss  she,  without  a 
shadow  of  evidence,  most  unjustly  put  down  to  James 
Walsham. 

The  parson  was  by  no  means  strict  with  his  flock.  He 
was  a  tall  man,  inclined  to  be  portly,  a  good  shot  and  an 
ardent  fisherman,  and  although  he  did  not  hunt  he  was 
frequently  seen  on  his  brown  cob  at  the  "  meet "  whenever 
it  took  place  within  a  reasonable  distance  of  Sidmouth, 
and  without  exactly  following  the  hounds  his  knowledge 
of  the  country  often  enabled  him  to  see  more  of  the  hunt 
than  those  who  did.  As  Mrs.  Walsham  spoke,  the  memory 
of  his  old  school  and  college  days  came  across  him. 

"  That  is  the  argumentum  ad  hominem,  Mrs.  Walsham, 
and  when  a  lady  takes  to  that  we  can  say  no  more.  You 
know  I  like  your  boy,  there  is  much  that  is  good  in  him; 
but  it  struck  me  that  you  were  letting  him  run  a  little  too 
wild.    However,  there  is  much  in  what  you  say,  and  I  don't 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  13 

believe  that  he  is  concerned  in  half  the  mischief  that  he 
gets  credit  for.  Still  you  must  remember  that  a  little  of 
the  curb,  just  a  little,  is  good  for  us  all.  It  spoils  a  horse 
to  be  always  tugging  at  his  mouth,  but  he  will  go  very 
badly  if  he  does  not  feel  that  there  is  a  hand  on  the  reins. 
I  have  said  the  same  thing  to  the  squire.  He  spoils  that 
boy  of  his,  for  whom,  between  ourselves,  I  have  no  great 
liking.  The  old  man  will  have  trouble  wifcli  him  before 
he  is  done,  or  I  am  greatly  mistaken." 

Nothing  came  of  Mr.  Allanby's  visit.  Mrs.  Walsham 
told  James  that  he  had  been  there  to  remonstrate  with  her. 
"  I  do  not  want  to  stop  you  from  going  out  sailing,  Jim ; 
but  I  wish  you  would  give  up  your  mischievous  pranks, 
they  only  get  you  bad  will  and  a  bad  name  in  the  place. 
Many  people  here  think  that  I  am  wrong  in  allowing  you 
to  associate  so  much  with  the  fisherboys,  and  when  you 
get  into  scrapes  it  enables  them  to  impress  upon  me  how 
right  they  were  in  their  forecasts.  I  do  not  want  my  boy 
to  be  named  in  the  same  breath  with  those  boys  of  Rob- 
son's,  or  young  Peterson,  or  Blaine." 

"  But  you  know  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  them,  mother," 
James  said  indignantly.  "  They  spend  half  their  time  about 
the  public-house,  and  they  do  say  that  when  Peterson  has 
been  out  with  that  lurcher  of  his  he  has  been  seen  coming 
back  with  his  coat  bulged  out,  and  there  is  often  a  smell 
of  hare  round  his  father's  cottage  at  supper-time.  You 
know  I  wouldn't  have  anything  to  do  with  them." 

"No,  Jim,  I  am  sure  you  would  not;  but  if  people  mix 
up  your  name  with  theirs  it  is  almost  as  bad  for  you  as  if 
you  had.  Unfortunately  people  are  too  apt  not  to  distin- 
guish between  tricks  which  are  really  only  the  outcome  of 
high  spirit  and  a  lack  of  something  better  to  do,  and  real 
vice.  Therefore,  Jim,  I  say,  keep  yourself  from  mischief. 
I  know  that  though  you  are  out  of  doors  so  many  hours  of 
the  day  you  really  do  get  through  a  good  deal  of  work;  but 


14  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

other  people  do  not  give  you  credit  for  this.  Remember 
how  your  father  was  respected  here.  Try  to  act  always  as 
you  would  have  done  had  he  been  alive,  and  you  cannot 
go  far  wrong." 

James  had  done  his  best,  but  he  found  it  hard  to  get  rid 
of  his  reputation  for  getting  into  mischief,  and  more  than 
once,  when  falsely  suspected,  he  grumbled  that  he  might 
just  as  well  have  the  fun  of  the  thing,  for  he  was  sure  to 
have  the  blame. 

As  Jim  Walsham  and  his  companions  were  chatting  in 
the  shade  of  a  boat  their  conversation  was  abruptly  broken 
off  by  the  sight  of  a  figure  coming  along  the  road.  It  was 
a  tall  figure,  with  a  stiff  military  bearing;  he  was  pushing 
before  him  a  large  box  mounted  on  a  framework  supported 
by  four  wheels;  low  down,  close  to  the  ground,  swung  a 
large  flat  basket.  In  this,  on  a  shawl  spread  over  a  thick 
bed  of  hay,  sat  a  little  girl  some  five  years  old. 

"It  is  the  sergeant,"  one  of  the  boys  exclaimed.  "I 
wonder  whether  he  has  got  a  fresh  set  of  views;  the  last 
were  first-rate  ones." 

The  sergeant  gave  a  friendly  nod  to  the  boys  as  he  passed, 
and  then  turning  up  the  main  street  from  the  beach  went 
along  until  he  came  to  a  shaded  corner,  and  there  stopped. 
The  boys  had  all  got  up  and  followed  him,  and  now  stood 
looking  on  with  interest  at  his  proceedings.  The  little 
girl  had  climbed  out  of  her  basket  as  soon  as  he  stopped, 
and  after  asking  leave,  trotted  back  along  the  street  to  the 
beach,  and  was  soon  at  play  among  the  seaweed  and  stones. 

She  was  a  singularly  pretty  child,  with  dark  blue  eyes, 
and  brown  hair  with  a  touch  of  gold.  Her  print  dress 
was  spotlessly  clean  and  neat;  a  huge  flapping  sun-bonnet 
shaded  her  face,  whose  expression  was  bright  and  winning. 

"Well,  boys,"  the  sergeant  said  cheerfully,  "how  have 
you  been  getting  on  since  I  was  here  last  ?  Nobody  drowned, 
I  hope,  or  come  to  any  ill;  not  that  we  must  grumble  what- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  15 

ever  comes;  we  have  all  got  to  do  our  duty,  whether  it  be 
to  march  up  a  hill  with  shot  and  shell  screaming  and 
whistling  round,  as  I  have  had  to  do;  or  to  be  far  out  at 
sea  with  the  wind  blowing  fit  to  take  the  hair  off  your 
head,  as  comes  to  your  lot  sometimes;  or  following  the 
plough  from  year's  end  to  year's  end,  as  happens  to  some. 
We  have  got  to  make  the  best  of  it  whatever  it  is.  I  have 
got  a  grand  new  set  of  pictures  from  Exeter.  They  came 
all  the  way  down  from  London  town  for  me  by  wagon. 
London  Bridge,  and  Windsor  Castle,  with  the  flag  flying 
over  it,  telling  that  the  king — God  bless  his  gracious  ma- 
jesty— is  at  home. 

"  Then  I  have  got  some  pictures  of  foreign  parts  that 
will  make  you  open  your  eyes.  There's  Niagara.  I  don't 
know  whether  you've  heard  of  it,  but  it's  a  place  where  a 
great  river  jumps  down  over  a  wall  of  rock  as  high  as  that 
steeple  there,  with  a  roar  like  thunder  that  can  be  heard, 
they  say,  on  a  still  night,  for  twenty  miles  round.  I  have 
got  some  that  will  interest  you  more  still,  because  you  are 
sailors,  or  are  going  to  be  sailors.  I  have  got  one  of  the 
killing  of  a  whale;  he  has  just  thrown  a  boat  with  five 
sailors  into  the  air,  with  a  lash  of  his  tail;  but  it's  of  no 
use,  for  there  are  other  boats  round,  and  the  harpoons  are 
striking  deep  in  his  flesh.  He  is  a  big  fish  and  a  strong 
one;  but  he  will  be  beaten,  for  he  does  not  know  how  to 
use  his  strength.  That's  the  case  with  many  men.  They 
throw  away  their  life  and  their  talents,  just  because  they 
don't  know  what's  in  them,  and  what  they  might  do  if 
they  tried. 

"And  I  have  got  a  picture  of  the  fight  with  the  Spanish 
Armada.  You  have  heard  about  that,  boys,  surely;  for  it 
began  out  there  over  the  water  almost  in  sight  of  Sidmouth, 
and  went  on  all  the  way  up  the  Channel,  our  little  ships 
hanging  on  to  the  great  Spaniards  and  giving  them  no 
rest,  but  worrying  them  and  battering  them  till  they  were 


16  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

glad  to  sail  away  to  the  Dutch  coast;  hut  they  were  not 
safe  there,  for  we  sent  fire-ships  at  them,  and  they  had  to 
cut  and  run;  and  then  a  storm  came  on,  and  sunk  many 
and  drove  others  ashore  all  around  our  coasts,  even  round 
the  north  of  Scotland  and  Ireland.  You  will  see  it  all 
here,  boys,  and,  as  you  know,  the  price  is  only  one  penny." 

By  this  time  the  sergeant  had  let  down  one  side  of  the 
box  and  discovered  four  round  holes,  and  had  arranged  a 
low  stool  in  front,  for  any  of  those  who  were  not  tall  enough 
to  look  through  the  glasses,  to  stand  upon.  A  considerable 
number  of  girls  and  boys  had  now  gathered  round,  for 
Sergeant  Wilks  and  his  show  were  old-established  favorites 
at  Sidmouth,  and  the  news  of  his  arrival  had  travelled 
quickly  round  the  place.  Four  years  before  he  had  ap- 
peared there  for  the  first  time,  and  since  then  had  come 
every  few  months.  He  travelled  round  the  south-western 
counties,  Dorset  and  Wilts,  Somerset,  Devon,  and  Corn- 
wall, and  his  cheery  good  temper  made  him  a  general  fa- 
vorite wherever  he  went. 

He  was  somewhat  of  a  martinet,  and  would  have  no 
crowding  and  pushing,  and  always  made  the  boys  stand 
aside  till  the  girls  had  a  good  look;  but  he  never  hurried 
them,  and  allowed  each  an  ample  time  to  see  the  pictures, 
which  were  of  a  better  class  than  those  in  most  travelling 
peep-shows.  There  was  some  murmuring  at  first  because 
the  show  contained  none  of  the  popular  murders  and  blood- 
curdling scenes  to  which  the  people  were  accustomed. 

"  No,"  the  sergeant  had  said  firmly,  when  the  omission 
was  suggested  to  him;  "the  young  ones  see  quite  enough 
scenes  of  drunkenness  and  fighting.  When  I  was  a  child 
I  remember  seeing  in  a  peep-show  the  picture  of  a  woman 
lying  with  her  head  nearly  cut  off,  and  her  husband  with 
a  bloody  chopper  standing  beside  her,  and  it  spoiled  my 
sleep  for  weeks.  No,  none  of  that  sort  of  thing  for  Ser- 
geant Wilks;   he  has  fought  for  his  country,  and  has  seen 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  17 

bloodshed  enough  in  his  time,  and  the  ground  half  covered 
with  dead  and  dying  men,  but  that  was  duty — this  is  plea- 
sure. Sergeant  Wilks  will  show  the  boys  and  girls  who  pay 
him  their  pennies  views  in  all  parts  of  the  world  such  as 
would  cost  them  thousands  of  pounds  if  they  travelled  to 
see  them,  and  all  as  natural  as  life.  He  will  show  them 
great  battles  by  land  and  sea,  where  the  soldiers  and  sailors 
shed  their  blood  like  water  in  the  service  of  their  country; 
but  cruel  murders  and  notorious  crimes  he  will  not  show 
them/' 

It  was  not  the  boys  and  girls  only  who  were  the  ser- 
geant's patrons.  Picture-books  were  scarce  in  those  days, 
and  grown-up  girls  and  young  men  were  not  ashamed  to 
pay  their  pennies  to  peep  into  the  sergeant's  box.  There 
was  scarcely  a  farm-house  throughout  his  beat  where  he 
was  not  known  and  welcomed.  His  care  of  the  child,  who, 
when  he  first  came  round,  was  but  a  year  old,  won  the  heart 
of  the  women,  and  a  bowl  of  bread  and  milk  for  the  little 
one,  and  a  mug  of  beer  and  a  hunch  of  bread  and  bacon 
for  himself,  were  always  at  his  service  before  he  opened  his 
box  and  showed  its  wonders  to  the  maids  and  children  of 
the  house. 

Sidmouth  was  one  of  his  regular  halting-places,  and,  in- 
deed, he  visited  it  more  often  than  any  other  town  on  his 
beat.  There  was  always  a  room  ready  for  him  there  in 
the  house  of  a  fisherman's  widow  when  he  arrived  on  the 
Saturday,  and  he  generally  stopped  till  the  Monday.  Thus 
he  had  come  to  know  the  names  of  most  of  the  boys  of  the 
place  as  well  as  of  many  of  the  elders;  for  it  was  his  cus- 
tom of  a  Saturday  evening,  after  the  little  one  was  in  bed, 
to  go  and  smoke  his  pipe  in  the  tap-room  of  the  "Anchor," 
where  he  would  sometimes  relate  tales  of  his  adventures  to 
the  assembled  fishermen.  But,  although  chatty  and  cheery 
with  his  patrons,  Sergeant  Wilks  was  a  reticent  rather  thaD 

2 


18  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

a  talkative  man.  At  the  "Anchor  "  he  was,  except  when 
called  upon  for  a  story,  a  listener  rather  than  a  talker. 

As  to  his  history,  or  the  county  to  which  he  belonged, 
he  never  alluded  to  it,  although  communicative  enough  as 
to  his  military  adventures;  and  any  questions  which  were 
asked  him  he  quietly  put  on  one  side.  He  had  intimated, 
indted,  that  the  father  and  mother  of  his  grandchild  were 
both  dead;  but  it  was  not  known  whether  she  was  the 
child  of  his  son  or  daughter;  for  under  his  cheerful  talk 
there  was  something  of  military  strictness  and  sternness, 
and  he  was  not  a  man  of  whom  idle  questions  would  be 
asked. 

"Now,  boys  and  girls,"  he  said,  "step  up;  the  show  is 
ready.  Those  who  have  got  a  penny  cannot  spend  it  better. 
Those  who  haven't  must  try  and  get  their  father  or  mother 
to  give  them  one  and  see  the  show  later  on.  Girls  first, 
boys  should  always  give  way  to  their  sisters.  The  bravest 
men  are  always  the  most  courteous  and  gentle  with  women." 

Four  girls  of  various  ages  paid  their  pennies  and  took 
their  places  at  the  glasses,  and  the  sergeant  then  began  to 
describe  the  pictures,  his  descriptions  of  the  wonders  within 
being  so  exciting  that  several  boys  and  girls  stole  off  from 
the  little  crowd  and  made  their  way  to  their  homes  to  coax 
their  parents  out  of  the  necessary  coin. 

James  Walsham  listened  a  while,  and  then  walked  away 
to  the  sea,  for  there  would  be  several  sets  of  girls  before  it 
came  to  the  turn  of  the  boys.  He  strolled  along,  and  as 
he  came  within  sight  of  the  beach  stopped  for  a  moment 
suddenly,  and  then  with  a  shout  ran  forward  at  the  top  of 
his  speed. 

The  little  girl,  after  playing  some  time  with  the  seaweed, 
had  climbed  into  a  small  boat  which  lay  at  the  edge  of  the 
advancing  tide,  and  leaning  over  the  stern  watched  the 
little  waves  as  they  ran  up  one  after  another.  A  few  min- 
utes after  she  had  got  into  it,  the  rising  tide  floated  the 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  19 

boat,  and  it  drifted  out  a  few  yards,  as  far  as  its  headrope 
allowed  it.  Ignorant  of  what  had  happened,  the  child  was 
kneeling  up  at  the  stern,  leaning  over,  and  dabbling  her 
hands  in  the  water.  No  one  had  noticed  her;  the  boys 
had  all  deserted  the  beach.  None  of  the  fishermen  were 
near  the  spot.  Just  before  James  Walsham  came  within 
sight  of  the  sea  the  child  had  overbalanced  itself.  His  eye 
fell  on  the  water  just  as  two  arms  and  a  frightened  little 
face  appeared  above  it.  There  was  a  little  splash  and  a 
struggle,  and  the  sea  was  bare  again. 

At  the  top  of  his  speed  James  dashed  across  the  road, 
sprang  down  the  beach,  and  rushing  a  few  yards  into  the 
water,  dived  down.  He  knew  which  way  the  tide  was 
making,  and  allowed  for  the  set.  A  few  vigorous  strokes, 
and  he  reached  something  white  on  the  surface.  It  was 
the  sun-bonnet  which  had,  in  the  child's  struggles,  become 
unfastened.  He  dived  at  once,  and  almost  immediately 
saw  a  confused  mass  before  him.  Another  stroke,  and  he 
seized  the  child's  clothes,  and  grasping  her  firmly  rose  to 
the  surface  and  swam  toward  shore.  Although  the  acci- 
dent had  not  been  perceived,  his  shout  and  sudden  rush 
into  the  water  had  called  the  attention  of  some  of  the  men, 
and  two  or  three  of  them  ran  into  the  water  waist  deep  to 
help  him  out  with  his  little  burden. 

"Well  done,  Master  "Walsham!  the  child  would  have 
been  drowned  if  you  had  not  seed  it.  None  of  us  noticed 
her  fall  over.  She  was  playing  on  the  beach  last  time  I 
seed  her." 

"  Is  she  dead  ?  "  James  asked,  breathless  from  his  exer- 
tions. 

"Not  she,"  the  fisherman  said;  "she  could  not  have 
been  under  water  a  minute.  Take  her  into  my  cottage, 
it's  one  of  the  nighest;  my  wife  will  put  her  between  the 
blankets,  and  will  soon  bring  her  round." 

The 'fisherman's  wife  met  them  at  the  door,  and  taking 


20  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

the  child  from  the  lad  carried  it  in,  and  soon  had  her 
wrapped  up  in  blankets.  But  before  this  was  done  she 
had  opened  her  eyes,  for  she  had  scarcely  lost  consciousness 
when  James  had  seized  her.  The  lad  stood  outside  the 
door  waiting  for  the  news  when  the  sergeant  hurried  up, 
one  of  the  fishermen  having  gone  to  tell  him  what  had 
happened  as  soon  as  the  child  had  been  carried  into  the 
cottage — assuring  him,  as  he  did  so,  that  the  little  one  would 
speedily  come  round.  Just  as  he  came  up  the  door  of  the 
cottage  opened,  and  one  of  the  women  who  had  run  in  to 
assist  the  fisherman's  wife  put  her  head  out. 

"  She  has  opened  her  eyes/'  she  said.  "  The  little  dear 
will  soon  be  all  right." 

"  Thank  God  for  His  mercies !  "  the  sergeant  said,  tak- 
ing off  his  hat.  "  What  should  I  have  done  if  I  had  lost 
her  ?  and  I  have  to  thank  you  next  to  God,"  he  said,  seiz- 
ing the  boy's  hand.  "May  God  bless  you,  young  gentle- 
man !  and  reward  you  for  having  saved  my  darling.  They 
tell  me  she  must  have  been  drowned  but  for  you,  for  no 
one  knew  she  had  fallen  in.  Had  it  not  been  for  you  I 
should  come  round  to  look  for  her  and  she  would  have 
been  gone — gone  for  ever !  "  and  the  showman  dashed  the 
tears  from  his  eyes  with  the  back  of  his  hand. 

"  I  was  only  just  in  time,"  the  lad  said.  "  I  did  not  see 
her  fall  out  of  the  boat.  She  was  only  a  few  yards  away 
from  it  when  she  came  up — just  as  my  eyes  fell  on  the 
spot.  I  am  very  glad  to  have  saved  her  for  you;  but  of 
course  it  was  nothing  of  a  swim.  She  could  not  have  been 
many  yards  out  of  my  depth.  Now  I  will  run  home  and 
change  my  things." 

James  Walsham  was  too  much  accustomed  to  be  wet 
through  to  care  anything  about  his  dripping  clothes,  but 
they  served  him  as  an  excuse  to  get  away,  for  he  felt  awk- 
ward and  embarrassed  at  the  gratitude  of  the  old  soldier. 
He  pushed  his  way  through  the  little  crowd  which  had 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  21 

now  gathered  round,  and  started  at  a  run;  for  the  news 
had  brought  almost  all  those  gathered  around  the  peep- 
show  to  the  shore,  the  excitement  of  somebody  being 
drowned  being  superior  even  to  that  of  the  peep-show  to 
the  great  majority,  though  a  few,  who  had  no  hope  of  ob- 
taining the  necessary  pennies,  had  lingered  behind  and 
seized  the  opportunity  for  a  gratuitous  look  through  the 
glasses. 

James  ran  up-stairs  and  changed  his  clothes  without  see- 
ing his  mother,  and  then,  taking  down  one  of  his  lesson- 
books,  set  to  work,  shrinking  from  the  idea  of  going  out 
again  and  being  made  a  hero  of.  Half  an  hour  later  there 
was  a  knock  at  the  front  door,  and  a  few  minutes  after  his 
mother  called  him  down.  He  ran  down  to  the  parlor,  and 
there  found  the  showman. 

"  Oh,  I  say,"  the  boy  broke  out,  "  don't  say  anything 
more  about  it!  I  do  hate  being  thanked,  and  there  was 
nothing  in  swimming  ten  yards  in  a  calm  sea.  Please  don't 
say  anything  more  about  it.  I  would  rather  you  hit  me 
ever  so  much." 

The  sergeant  smiled  gravely,  and  Mrs.  Walsham  ex- 
claimed : 

"  Why  didn't  you  come  in  and  tell  me  about  it,  Jim  ?  I 
could  not  make  out  at  first  what  Mr. — Mr. " 

"  Sergeant  Wilks,  madam." 

"  What  Sergeant  Wilks  meant  when  he  said  that  he  had 
called  to  tell  me  how  grateful  he  felt  to  you  for  saving  his 
little  grandchild's  life.     I  am  proud  of  yon,  Jim." 

"  Oh,  mother,  don't ! "  the  boy  exclaimed.  "  It  is  horrid 
going  on  so.  If  I  had  swum  out  with  a  rope  through  the 
surf  there  might  be  something  in  it;  but  just  to  jump  in 
at  the  edge  of  the  water  is  not  worth  making  a  fuss  about 
one  way  or  the  other.* 

"  Not  to  you  perhaps,  young  gentleman,  but  it  is  to  me," 
the  showman  said.    "  The  child  is  the  light  of  my  life,  the 


22  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:  OR, 

only  thing  I  have  to  care  for  in  the  world,  and  you  have 
saved  her.  If  it  had  only  been  by  stretching  out  your  hand 
I  should  have  been  equally  grateful.  However,  I  will  say 
no  more  about  it,  but  I  shall  not  think  the  less.  But  don't 
you  believe,  madam,  that  there  was  no  credit  in  it.  It  was 
just  the  quickness  and  the  promptness  which  saved  her 
life.  Had  your  son  hesitated  a  moment  it  would  have  been 
too  late,  for  he  would  never  have  found  her.  It  is  not 
likely  that  your  son  will  ever  have  any  occasion  for  help 
of  mine,  but  should  there  be  an  opportunity  he  may  rely 
upon  it  that  any  service  I  can  render  him  shall  be  his  to 
the  death;  and  unlikely  as  it  may  seem,  it  may  yet  turn 
out  that  this  brave  act  of  his  in  saving  the  life  of  the 
granddaughter  of  a  travelling  showman  will  not  be  with- 
out its  reward." 

"  Is  she  all  right  now  ?  "  James  asked  abruptly,  anxious 
to  change  the  conversation. 

"Yes.  She  soon  came  to  herself,  and  wanted  to  tell  me 
all  about  it;  but  I  would  not  let  her  talk,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  she  dropped  off  to  sleep,  and  there  I  left  her.  The 
women  tell  me  she  will  probably  sleep  till  morning,  and 
will  then  be  as  well  as  ever.  And  now  I  must  go  and  look 
after  my  box,  or  the  boys  will  be  pulling  it  to  pieces." 

It  was,  however,  untouched,  for  in  passing  the  sergeant 
had  told  the  little  crowd  that  if  they  left  it  alone  he  would 
on  his  return  let  all  see  without  payment,  and  during  the 
rest  of  the  afternoon  he  was  fully  occupied  with  successive 
audiences,  being  obliged  to  make  his  lectures  brief  in  order 
that  all  might  have  their  turn. 

After  the  sergeant  had  left,  James  took  his  hat  and 
went  for  a  long  walk  in  the  country  in  order  to  escape  the 
congratulations  of  the  other  boys.  The  next  day  little 
Agnes  was  perfectly  well,  and  appeared  with  her  grand- 
father in  the  seat  far  back  in  the  church  which  he  always 
occupied  on  the  Sundays  she  s,pent  at  Sidmouth.    On  thesa 


THE   WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  23 

occasions  she  was  always  neatly  and  prettily  dressed,  and, 
indeed,  some  of  the  good  women  of  the  place,  comparing 
the  graceful  little  thing  with  their  own  children,  had  not 
been  backward  in  their  criticisms  on  the  folly  of  the  old 
showman  in  dressing  his  child  out  in  clothes  fit  for  a  lady. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    SHOWMAN'S    GRANDCHILD. 

Three  months  later  the  showman  again  appeared  at 
Sidmouth,  but  did  not  set  up  Ms  box  as  usual.  Leaving 
it  at  his  lodging  he  went,  at  once  with  his  grandchild  to 
Mrs.  Walsham's. 

"  I  have  come,  madam,"  he  said  after  the  first  inquiries 
about  the  child  had  been  answered,  "  on  a  particular  busi- 
ness. It  will  seem  a  strange  thing  to  you  for  a  man  like 
me  to  ask,  but  things  are  not  quite  as  they  seem,  though  I 
can't  explain  it  now.  But  I  am  beating  about  the  bush, 
and  not  getting  any  nearer.  I  have  come  to  ask,  madam, 
whether  you  would  take  charge  of  the  child  for  two  years. 
Of  course  I  am  ready  to  pay  anything  that  you  may  think 
proper/' 

"But  I  don't  take  boarders,"  Mrs.  Walsham  said,  much 
surprised  at  the  proposition.  "  I  only  take  girls  who  come 
in  the  morning  and  go  away  in  the  afternoon;  besides, 
they  are  all  a  good  many  years  older  than  your  grandchild. 
None  of  the  girls  who  come  to  me  are  under  twelve." 

"  I  know,  ma'am,  I  know;  and  I  am  sure  you  must  think 
it  a  great  liberty  on  my  part  to  ask  such  a  thing,"  the  ser- 
geant said  apologetically.  "  It  is  not  the  teaching  I  want, 
but  just  a  home  for  her." 

Mrs.  Walsham  felt  puzzled.  She  did  in  her  heart  feel 
it  to  be  a  liberty.  Surely  this  wandering  showman  would 
find  no  difficulty  in  getting  his  grandchild  taken  care  of 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  25 

among  people  of  his  own  rank  in  life.  It  did  seem  most 
singular  that  he  should  seek  to  place  the  child  with  her. 
Mrs.  Walsham  was  not  given  to  thinking  what  her  neigh- 
bors would  say,  but  she  thought  of  the  buzz  of  comment 
and  astonishment  which  her  taking  the  charge  of  this 
child  would  excite.  She  had  been  particular  in  keeping 
her  little  school  to  some  extent  select,  and  as  it  was  now 
as  large  as  she  could  manage  unaided,  she  was  able  to  make 
it  almost  a  favor  to  the  farmers'  wives  to  take  their  girls. 

But  to  do  Mrs.  Walsham  justice  this  thought  had  less 
influence  with  her  than  that  of  the  time  and  care  which 
would  be  required  by  a  child  of  that  age  in  the  house. 
Certainly,  she  thought,  as  she  looked  at  her  sitting  with 
her  eyes  wide  open  and  an  expression  of  grave  wonder  in 
her  face,  "  she  is  a  little  darling,  and  as  Jim  saved  her  life 
I  have  a  special  interest  in  her;  but  this  is  out  of  the 
question."  It  was  two  or  three  minutes  before  she  an- 
swered the  showman's  last  words. 

"No,  it  cannot  be  done,  Sergeant  Wilks.  No  money 
that  could  be  paid  me  would  make  up  to  me  for  the  charge 
of  a  child  of  her  age.  I  am  all  day  in  school,  and  what 
could  a  child,  especially  one  accustomed  to  be  out  all  day, 
do  with  herself  ?  The  worry  and  anxiety  would  be  im- 
mense. Were  it  not  for  my  school  it  would  be  different 
altogether.  A  child  of  that  age,  especially  such  a  sweet 
little  thing  as  your  granddaughter  seems  to  be,  would  be 
a  pet  and  amusement;  but  as  it  is,  I  am  sorry  to  say  that 
it  is  out  of  the  question.  But  surely  you  will  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  finding  plenty  of  good  women  who  would  be  glad 
to  take  her,  and  to  whom,  having  children  of  the  same 
age,  she  would  be  no  trouble  whatever." 

"Yes,"  the  sergeant  said  slowly,  "I  was  afraid  you  would 
say  that,  ma'am.  Besides,  though  you  are  good  enough 
not  to  say  it,  I  know  that  there  must  be  other  objections. 
I  know  you  must  be  surprised  at  my  wanting  her  to  be 


26  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

with  a  lady  like  yourself.  So  far  as  money  goes  I  could 
afford  to  pay  fifty  pounds  a  year,  and  perhaps  you  might 
get  a  girl  who  could  look  after  Aggie  while  you  are 
busy/' 

i" Fifty  pounds  a  year!  "  Mrs.  "Walsham  said,  greatly  sur- 
prised. "  That  is  a  large  sum,  a  great  deal  too  large  a  sum 
for  you  to  pay  for  the  care  of  such  a  little  child.  For  half 
that  there  are  scores  of  farmers'  wives  who  would  be  happy 
to  take  her,  and  where  she  would  be  far  more  happy  and 
comfortable  than  she  would  be  with  me." 

"  I  know  I  could  get  plenty  to  take  her/'  the  soldier 
said,  "  but  I  have  reasons,  very  particular  reasons,  why  I 
wish  to  place  her  with  a  lady  for  two  years.  I  cannot  ex- 
plain those  reasons  to  you,  but  you  may  imagine  they  must 
be  strong  ones  for  me  to  be  willing  to  pay  fifty  pounds  a 
year  for  her.  That  money  has  been  laid  by  from  the  day 
she  was  born,  for  that  purpose.  I  have  other  reasons  of 
my  own  for  wishing  that  she  should  be  at  Sidmouth  rather 
than  at  any  other  place;  and  I  have  another  reason,"  and 
a  slight  smile  stole  across  his  face,  "  for  preferring  that 
she  should  be  with  you  rather  than  any  one  else.  All  this 
must  seem  very  strange  to  you,  madam;  but  at  the  end  of 
the  two  years,  when  you  know  what  my  reasons  were,  you 
will  acknowledge  that  they  were  good  ones. 

"  God  knows,"  he  went  on,  looking  very  grave,  "  what  a 
wrench  it  will  be  for  me  to  part  with  her.  How  lonely  I 
shall  be  as  I  tramp  the  country  without  her  pretty  prattle 
to  listen  to;  but  I  have  got  to  do  it  sooner  or  later,  and 
these  two  years,  when  I  can  see  her  sometimes,  will  be  a 
break,  and  accustom  me  to  do  without  her  sweet  face. 
Please,  madam,"  he  urged,  "  do  not  give  me  a  final  answer 
to-day.  I  shall  not  go  till  Monday,  and  will  call  again,  if 
you  will  let  me,  that  morning;  and  believe  me,  if  I  could 
tell  you  all,  I  could  give  you  reasons  which  would,  I  think, 
induce  you  to  change  your  mind." 


THE   WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  27 

So  saying  he  made  a  military  salute,  took  the  child's 
hand  in  his,  and  was  soon  striding  along  toward  the  sea. 

Mrs.  Walsham  was  some  time  before  she  recovered 
from  her  surprise.  This  was,  indeed,  a  mysterious  affair. 
The  earnestness  with  which  the  old  soldier  pleaded  his 
cause  had  moved  her  strongly,  and  had  almost  persuaded 
her  to  accept  the  proposal  which  had  at  first  seemed  pre- 
posterous. Fifty  pounds  a  year,  too,  was  certainly  a  hand- 
some sum.  She  could  get  a  girl  from  the  village  for  two 
or  three  shillings  a  week  to  look  after  the  child  and  go  out 
with  her  during  school  hours,  and  a  hundred  pounds  would 
be  a  very  handsome  addition  to  the  sum  which  she  had 
begun,  little  by  little,  to  lay  by  for  Jim's  preparation  for 
the  medical  profession. 

In  the  five  years  which  would  elapse  before  it  would  be 
time  for  him  to  enter  upon  his  studies  for  it  she  could 
hardly  hope  to  lay  by  more  than  that  sum,  and  this  would 
at  a  stroke  double  it.  Certainly  it  was  a  tempting  offer. 
She  could  not  do  justice  to  the  child,  could  not  give  her 
the  care  and  attention  which  she  ought  to  have,  and  which 
she  could  have  for  such  a  sum  elsewhere;  but  the  sergeant 
knew  exactly  how  she  was  placed,  and  if  he  was  willing 
and  anxious  for  her  to  assume  the  charge  of  the  child  why 
should  she  refuse  this  good  offer  ?  However,  her  pupils 
were  waiting  for  her  in  the  next  room,  and  with  an  effort 
Mrs.  Walsham  put  the  matter  aside,  and  went  in  to  them. 
When  James  returned  home  to  dinner  his  mother  related 
to  him  the  whole  conversation.  James  was  more  amused 
than  puzzled. 

"It  seems  a  rum  idea,  mother;  but  I  don't  see  why  you 
shouldn't  take  her.  She  is  a  sweet  little  thing,  and  will 
be  a  great  amusement.  Fifty  pounds  a  year  seems  a  tre- 
mendous sum  for  a  man  like  that  to  pay;  but  I  suppose 
he  knows  his  own  business,  and  it  will  be  a  great  pull  for 
you.     You  will  be  able  to  have  all  sorts  of  comforts.     I 


28  WITH  WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

should  like  it  very  much.  I  have  often  wished  I  had  had 
a  little  sister,  and  she  can  go  out  walks  with  me,  you  know; 
it  would  he  like  having  a  big  dog  with  one,  only  much 
jollier." 

»  "Yes,"  his  mother  said  smiling;  "and  I  shouldn't  he 
surprised  if  you  wanted  to  throw  sticks  into  the  water  for 
her  to  fetch  them  out,  and  to  he  taking  her  out  for  a 
night's  fishing,  and  be  constantly  bringing  her  home 
splashed  with  that  nasty  red  mud  from  head  to  foot.  You 
would  be  a  nice  playmate  for  a  little  girl,  Jim.  Perhaps 
it  is  that  special  advantage  that  the  sergeant  had  in  his 
mind's  eye  when  he  was  so  anxious  to  put  her  with  me." 

James  laughed. 

"  I  would  see  that  she  didn't  come  to  any  harm  anyhow, 
you  know;  and,  after  all,  I  suppose  it  was  my  picking  her 
out  of  the  sea  that  had  something  to  do  with  his  first  think- 
ing of  putting  her  with  you." 

"  I  suppose  it  had,  Jim,"  she  said  more  seriously.  "  But 
what  do  you  think,  my  boy  ?  You  know  there  are  disad- 
vantages in  it.  There  will  be  a  good  deal  of  talk  about 
my  taking  this  showman's  grandchild,  and  some  of  the 
farmers'  wives  won't  like  it." 

"Then  let  them  dislike  it/'  James  said  indignantly. 
"  The  child  is  as  good  as  their  daughters  any  day.  Why,  I 
noticed  her  in  church  looking  like  a  little  lady.  There 
was  not  a  child  there  to  compare  to  her." 

"Yes,  I  have  noticed  her  myself,"  Mrs.  Walsham  said. 
"  She  is  a  singularly  pretty  and  graceful  child;  but  it  will 
certainly  cause  remark." 

"Well,  mother,  you  can  easily  say,  what  is  really  the  fact, 
that  you  naturally  felt  an  interest  in  her  because  I  picked 
her  out  of  the  water.  Besides,  if  people  make  remarks  they 
will  soon  be  tired  of  that;  and  if  not,  I  can  get  into  some 
scrape  or  other  and  give  them  something  else  to  talk 
about." 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  29 

Accordingly  when  Sergeant  Wilks  called  on  Monday 
morning  for  his  answer  Mrs.  Walsham  told  him  that  she 
had  decided  to  accept  his  offer. 

"  You  are  aware  how  I  am  placed,"  she  said,  "  and  that 
I  cannot  give  her  the  care  and  time  which  I  could  wish, 
and  which  she  ought  to  have  for  such  a  liberal  payment  as 
you  propose;  but  you  know  that  beforehand,  and  you  see 
that  for  two  years'  payments  I  could  not  sacrifice  my  school 
connection,  which  I  should  have  to  do  if  I  gave  her  the 
time  I  should  wish." 

"  I  understand,  madam,"  he  said,  "  and  I  am  grateful  to 
you  for  consenting  to  take  her.  She  is  getting  too  old  now 
to  wander  about  with  me,  and  since  the  narrow  escape  she 
had  last  time  I  was  here  I  have  felt  anxious  whenever  she 
was  out  of  my  sight.  It  would  not  suit  me  to  put  her  in  a 
farm-house.  I  want  her  to  learn  to  speak  nicely,  and  I 
have  done  my  best  to  teach  her ;  but  if  she  went  to  a  farm- 
house she  would  be  picking  up  all  sorts  of  country  words, 
and  I  want  her  to  talk  like  a  little  lady.  So  that  is  settled, 
ma'am.  I  am  going  on  to  Exeter  from  here,  and  shall 
get  her  a  stock  of  clothes  there,  and  will  bring  her  back 
next  Saturday.  Will  it  suit  you  to  take  her  then  ?  " 
.  Mrs.  Walsham  said  that  would  suit  very  well;  and  an 
hour  later  the  sergeant  set  out  from  Sidmouth  with  his 
box,  Aggie  trotting  alongside  talking  continuously. 

"But  why  am  I  to  stop  with  that  lady,  grampa,  and  not 
to  go  about  with  you  any  more  ?  I  shan't  like  it.  I  like 
going  about,  though  I  get  so  tired  sometimes  when  you  are 
showing  the  pictures,  and  I  like  being  with  you.  It  isn't 
'cause  I  have  been  naughty,  is  it  ?  'cause  I  fell  out  of  the 
boat  into  the  water  ?  I  won't  never  get  into  a  boat  again, 
and  I  didn't  mean  to  fall  out,  you  know." 

"  No,  Aggie,  it's  not  that,"  the  sergeant  said.  "  You  are 
always  a  good  girl — at  least,  not  always,  because  sometimes 
you  get  into  passions,  you  know.     Still,  altogether  you  are 


30  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:    OR, 

a  good  little  girl.  Still,  you  see,  you  can't  always  be  going 
about  the  country  with  me." 

"  But  why  not,  grampa  ?  " 

"  Well,  my  dear,  because  great  girls  can't  go  about  the 
country  like  men;  it  wouldn't  be  right  and  proper  they 
should." 

"  "Why  shouldn't  it  be,  grampa  ?  "  the  child  persisted. 

"  Well,  Aggie,  I  can't  exactly  explain  to  you  why,  but 
so  it  is.  Men  and  boys  have  to  work;  they  go  about  in 
ships,  or  as  soldiers  to  fight  for  their  country,  just  as  I  did. 
Girls  and  women  have  to  stop  at  home  and  keep  house  and 
nurse  babies  and  that  sort  of  thing.  God  made  man  to  be 
hard  and  rough  and  to  work  and  go  about;  he  made  wo- 
man gentle  and  soft  to  stop  at  home  and  make  things 
comfortable."  Aggie  meditated  for  some  distance  in  si- 
lence upon  this  view  of  the  case. 

"  But  I  have  seen  women  working  in  the  fields,  grampa, 
and  some  of  them  didn't  seem  very  soft  and  gentle." 

"  No,  Aggie,  things  don't  always  go  just  as  they  ought 
to  do;  and  you  see  when  people  are  poor,  and  men  can't 
earn  enough  wages,  then  their  wives  and  daughters  have 
to  help;  and  then  you  see  they  get  rough,  more  like  men, 
because  they  are  not  doing  their  proper  work;  but  I  want 
you  to  grow  up  soft  and  gentle,  and  so  for  a  time  I  want 
you  to  live  with  that  lady  with  the  nice  boy  who  pulled 
you  out  of  the  water,  and  they  will  make  you  very  happy, 
and  I  shall  come  and  see  you  some  time." 

"I  like  him,"  the  child  said  with  a  nod;  "but  I  would 
rather  be  with  you,  you  know." 

"And  the  lady  will  teach  you  to  read,  Aggie ;  you  have 
learned  your  letters,  you  know." 

Aggie  shook  her  head,  to  show  that  this  part  of  the  pro- 
gramme was  not  particularly  to  her  liking. 

"  Do  you  think  the  boy  will  play  with  me,  grampa  ?  " 

"  I  dare  say  he  will,  Aggie,  when  you  are  very  good;  and 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  31 

you  must  never  forget,  you  know,  that  lie  saved  your  life. 
Just  think  how  unhappy  I  should  be  if  he  had  not  got  you 
out  of  the  water." 

"  The  water  was  cold  and  nasty/'  Aggie  said,  "  and  it 
seemed  so  warm  and  nice  to  my  hands.  Aggie  won't  go 
near  the  water  any  more.  Of  course  if  the  boy  is  with  me 
I  can  go,  because  he  won't  let  me  tumble  in.  Shall  I  get 
into  the  basket  now,  grampa  ?     I  is  tired." 

"  Oh,  nonsense,  little  woman !  you  have  not  walked  half 
a  mile  yet.  Anyhow,  you  must  trot  along  until  you  get 
to  the  top  of  this  hill,  then  you  shall  have  a  lift  for  a 
bit." 

And  so,  with  the  child  sometimes  walking  and  sometimes 
riding,  sometimes  asleep  in  her  basket  and  sometimes  chat- 
ting merrily  to  her  grandfather,  the  pair  made  their  way 
across  the  country  toward  Exeter. 

There  was  no  little  talk  in  Sidmouth  when  on  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday  the  showman's  grandchild  appeared  in  Mrs. 
Walsham's  pew  in  church,  and  it  became  known  that  she 
had  become  an  inmate  of  her  house.  It  was  generally  con- 
sidered that  Mrs.  Walsham  had  let  herself  down  greatly  by 
taking  the  showman's  grandchild,  and  one  or  two  of  the 
mothers  of  her  pupils  talked  about  taking  them  away.  One 
or  two  indeed  called  upon  her  to  remonstrate  personally, 
but  they  gained  nothing  by  the  step. 

"  I  do  not  understand  what  you  mean,"  she  said  quietly, 
"by  saying  that  the  child  is  not  fit  to  associate  with  my 
other  pupils.  She  is  singularly  gentle  and  taking  in  her 
manner.  She  expresses  herself  better  than  any  child  of 
her  own  age  in  Sidmouth,  so  far  as  I  know.  There  are  few 
so  neatly  and  prettily  dressed.  What  is  there  to  object  to  ? 
Her  grandfather  has  been  a  sergeant  in  the  army;  he  bears 
a  good  character,  and  is  liked  wherever  he  goes.  I  do  not 
consider  that  James  or  myself  are  in  any  way  demeaned  by 
sitting  down  to  meals  with  the  child,  who  indeed  behaves 


32  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

as  prettily  and  nicely  as  one  could  wish,  and  I  certainly  do 
not  see  that  any  of  my  pupils  can  be  injuriously  affected  by 
the  fact  that  for  an  hour  or  two  in  the  day  she  learns  her 
lessons  in  the  same  room  with  them.  Had  I  thought  that 
they  would  be,  I  should  not  have  received  her.  I  shall,  of 
course,  be  sorry  if  any  of  my  pupils  are  taken  away,  but  as 
I  have  several  girls  only  waiting  for  vacancies,  it  would 
make  no  difference  to  me  pecuniarily." 

And  so  it  happened  that  Mrs.  Walsham  lost  none  of  her 
pupils,  and  in  a  short  time  the  wonder  died  out;  indeed 
the  child  herself  was  so  pretty  and  taking  in  her  ways  that 
it  was  impossible  to  make  any  objection  to  her  personally. 
Mrs.  Walsham  had  been  struck  by  the  self-command  which 
she  showed  at  parting  with  her  grandfather.  Her  eyes 
were  full  of  tears,  her  lip  quivered,  and  she  could  scarcely 
speak;  but  there  was  no  loud  wailing,  no  passionate  out- 
burst. Her  grandfather  had  impressed  upon  her  that  the 
parting  was  for  her  own  good,  and  child  though  she  was, 
she  felt  how  great  a  sacrifice  he  was  making  in  parting  with 
her,  and  although  she  could  not  keep  the  tears  from  stream- 
ing down  her  cheeks,  or  silence  her  sobs  as  she  bade  him 
good-by,  she  tried  hard  to  suppress  her  grief.  The  pain  of 
parting  was  indeed  fully  as  great  to  Sergeant  Wilks  as  to 
his  granddaughter,  and  it  was  with  a  very  husky  voice  that 
he  bade  her  good-by,  and  then  putting  her  into  Mrs.  Wal- 
sham's  arms,  walked  hastily  away. 

Aggie  was  soon  at  home.  She  and  James  very  quickly 
became  allies,  and  the  boy  was  ever  ready  to  amuse  her, 
often  giving  up  his  own  plans  to  take  her  for  a  walk  to 
pick  flowers  in  the  hedgerow,  or  to  sail  a  tiny  boat  for  her 
in  the  pools  left  as  the  sea  retired.  Mrs.  Walsham  found 
to  her  surprise  that  the  child  gave  little  trouble.  She  was 
quiet  and  painstaking  during  the  half -hours  in  the  morning 
and  afternoon  when  she  was  in  the  school-room,  while  at 
nieal-times  her  prattle  and  talk  amused  both  mother  and 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  33 

son,  and  altogether  she  made  the  house  brighter  and  hap- 
pier than  it  was  before. 

In  two  months  the  sergeant  came  round  again.  He  did 
not  bring  his  box  with  him,  having  left  it  at  his  last  halting- 
place,  telling  James,  who  happened  to  meet  him  as  he  came 
into  Sidmouth,  that  he  did  not  mean  to  bring  his  show 
there  again. 

"  It  will  be  better  for  the  child,"  he  explained.  "  She 
has  done  with  the  peep-show  now,  and  I  do  not  want  her 
to  be  any  longer  associated  with  it." 

Aggie  was  delighted  to  see  him,  and  sprang  into  his  arms 
with  a  scream  of  joy  as  he  entered.  After  a  few  minutes' 
talk  Mrs.  Walsham  suggested  that  she  should  put  on  her 
hat  and  go  for  a  walk  with  him,  and  in  high  contentment 
the  child  trotted  off,  holding  her  grandfather's  hand.  Turn- 
ing to  the  left  the  sergeant  took  the  path  up  the  hill,  and 
when  he  reached  the  top,  sat  down  on  the  short  turf,  with 
Aggie  nestling  up  against  him. 

"  So  you  are  quite  well  and  happy,  Aggie  ?  "  he  asked. 
.  "Quite  well,  grampa,  and  very  happy;  but  I  do  wish  so 
much  that  you  were  here.     Oh,  it  would  be  so  nice  to  have 
you  to  go  out  with  every  day ! " 

"lam  afraid  that  cannot  be  managed,  Aggie.  4 1  have 
been  busy  so  long  that  I  could  not  settle  down  quietly  here; 
besides,  I  must  live,  you  know." 

"  But  wouldn't  people  give  you  money  for  the  show  if 
you  lived  here,  grampa  ?  You  always  got  money  here  the 
same  as  other  places." 

"Yes,  my  dear,  but  I  could  not  get  fresh  pictures  every 
day,  and  should  soon  tire  them  by  showing  the  old  house." 

"  But  you  are  sorry  sometimes,  grampa,  not  to  have  me 
with  you  ?  " 

"Yes,  Aggie,  very  sorry.  I  miss  you  terribly  sometimes, 
and  I  am  always  thinking  about  you." 

"  Then  why  don't  you  take  me  away  again,  grampa  ?  " 
3 


34  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"  Because,  as  I  told  yon,  Aggie,  I  want  you  to  learn  to 
read,  and  to  grow  up  quite  a  little  lady." 

"  Does  reading  make  one  a  lady,  grampa  ?  " 

"  No,  Aggie,  not  by  itself,  but  with  other  things/' 
t  "And  when  I  am  quite  grown  up  and  big,  and  know  how 
to  read  nicely,  shall  I  be  able  to  go  with  you  again  ?  " 

"  We  will  see  about  that,  Aggie,  when  the  time  comes. 
There  is  plenty  of  time  yet  to  think  about  that." 

"  But  I  am  getting  on  very  fast,  grampa,  and  the  lady 
says  I  am  a  good  girl.  So  it  won't  be  such  a  very  long  time 
before  I  can  leave." 

"  It  will  be  some  time  yet.  You  have  only  got  to  read 
little  words  yet,  but  there  are  lots  of  long  words  which  you 
will  come  to  presently.  But  Mrs.  "Walsham  tells  me  that 
you  are  getting  on  nicel}',  and  that  you  are  a  very  good  girl, 
which  pleases  me  very  much,  and  when  I  am  walking  along 
with  my  box  I  shall  like  to  be  able  to  think  of  you  as  being 
quite  comfortable  and  happy." 

"And  I  go  walks  with  Jim,  grampa,  and  Jim  has  made 
me.  a  boat,  and  he  says  some  day  when  it  is  very  fine  and 
quiet  he  will  take  me  out  in  a  big  boat,  like  that  boat,  you 
know;  and  he  is  going  to  ask  you  if  he  may,  for  the  lady 
said  I  must  not  go  out  with  him  till  he  has  asked  you. 
And  he  said  he  won't  let  me  tumble  over,  and  I  am  going 
to  sit  quite,  quite  still." 

"Yes,  Aggie,  I  doh't  see  any  harm  in  your  going  out 
with  him.  I  am  sure  he  will  only  take  you  when  it  is  fine, 
and  he  will  look  after  you  well.    You  like  him,  don't  you  ?  " 

"Oh!  I  do,  grampa;  and  you  know  it  was  him  who  got 
me  out  of  the  water,  else  I  should  never  have  come  out,  and 
never  have  seen  grampa  again;  and  he  has  made  me  a  boat. 
Oh !  yes,  I  do  like  him !  " 

"That's  right,  my  dear;  always  stick  to  those  who  are 
good  to  you." 

A  few  days  after  this,  as  James  was  sailing  the  toy  boat 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  35 

for  Aggie's  amusement  in  a  pool,  a  boy  sauntered  up.  He 
was  somewhat  taller  than  James  Walsham,  and  at  least  two 
years  older.  He  was  well  dressed,  and  James  knew  him  as 
the  nephew  and  heir  of  the  squire. 

It  was  not  often  that  Eichard  Horton  came  down  into 
the  village.  He  was  accustomed  to  be  treated  with  a  good 
deal  of  deference  at  the  Hall,  and  to  order  servants  and 
grooms  about  pretty  much  as  he  chose,  and  the  indifference 
with  which  the  fisherboys  regarded  him  offended  him 
greatly.  He  was  a  spoilt  boy.  His  uncle  had  a  resident 
tutor  for  him,  but  the  selection  had  been  a  bad  one.  The 
library  was  large  and  good,  the  tutor  fond  of  reading,  and 
he  was  content  to  let  the  boy  learn  as  little  as  he  chose,  pro- 
viding that  he  did  not  trouble  him.  As  to  any  instruction 
beyond  books,  he  never  thought  of  giving  it. 

The  squire  never  interfered.  He  was  a  silent  and  disap- 
pointed man.  He  attended  to  his  duties  as  a  magistrate 
and  to  the  management  of  his  estate,  but  seldom  went  be- 
yond the  lodge  gates.  He  took  his  meals  by  himself,  and 
often  did  not  see  his  nephew  for  a  week  together,  and  had 
no  idea  but  that  he  was  pursuing  his  studies  regularly  with 
his  tutor.  Thus  the  character  of  Eichard  Horton  formed 
itself  unchecked.  At  the  best  it  was  a  bad  one,  but  under 
other  circumstances  it  might  have  been  improved. 

Up  to  tne  age  of  ten  he  had  lived  in  London  with  his 
father  and  mother,  the  latter  a  sister  of  the  squire,  who 
having  married  beneath  her,  to  the  indignation  of  Mr.  Lin- 
thorne,  he  had  never  seen  her  afterward.  Four  years  before 
the  story  begins  she  had  received  a  letter  from  him  saying 
that  as  her  eldest  son  was  now  his  heir,  he  wished  him  to 
come  and  live  with  him  and  be  prepared  to  take  his  place. 
The  Hortons,  who  had  a  numerous  family,  at  once  accepted 
the  offer,  and  Eichard,  hearing  that  he  was  going  to  a  grand 
house,  and  would  no  doubt  have  a  pony  and  all  sorts  of 
nice  things,  left  his  father  and  mother  without  a  tear. 


36  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:  OR, 

He  was  essentially  selfish ;  lie  was  vain  of  his  good  looks 
which  were  certainly  striking;  and  with  his  changed  for- 
tunes he  became  arrogant,  and,  as  the  squire's  servants  said, 
hateful,  and  yet  the  change  had  brought  him  less  pleasure 
than  he  expected.  It  was  true  that  he  had  the  pony,  that 
he  was  not  obliged  to  trouble  himself  with  lessons,  that 
he  was  an  important  person  at  the  Hall;  but  he  had  no 
play-fellows,  no  one  to  admire  his  grandeur,  and  the  days 
often  passed  heavily,  and  there  was  a  look  of  discontent 
and  peevishness  upon  his  handsome  face. 

Perhaps  the  reason  why  he  so  seldom  came  down  into 
Sidmouth  was  not  only  because  the  fisherboys  were  not 
sufficiently  impressed  with  his  importance,  but  because 
they  looked  so  much  happier  and  more  contented  than  he 
felt  in  spite  of  his  numerous  advantages.  On  this  day  he 
was  in  a  particularly  bad  temper.  He  had  lamed  his  pony 
the  day  before  by  riding  it  furiously  over  a  bad  road  after 
it  had  cast  a  shoe.  The  gardener  had  objected  to  his  pick- 
ing more  than  half  a  dozen  peaches  which  had  just  come 
into  perfection,  and  had  threatened  to  appeal  to  the  squire. 

Altogether  he  was  out  of  sorts,  and  had  walked  down  to 
the  sea  with  a  vague  hope  that  something  might  turn  up 
to  amuse  him.  He  stood  for  some  little  time  watching 
James  sail  the  boat,  and  then  strode  down  to  the  edge  of 
the  pool.  The  boat  was  a  model  of  a  smack,  with  brown 
sails.  James  had  taken  a  good  deal  of  pains  with  it,  and 
it  was  an  excellent  model.  Presently  in  crossing  she  stuck 
in  a  shallow  some  twelve  feet  from  the  edge.  The  inter- 
vening stretch  of  water  was  a  foot  deep. 

James  picked  up  some  small  stones  and  threw  them 
close  to  her,  that  the  tiny  wave  they  made  might  float  her 
off.     He  tried  several  times  without  success. 

"  What's  the  use  of  such  little  stones  as  that  ?  "  Eichard 
said  roughly;  "you  will  never  get  her  off  like  that;"  and 
picking  up  one  as  large  as  his  fist,  he  threw  it  with  some 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINEN  37 

force.  It  struck  the  mast  and  broke  it  asunder,  and 
knocked  the  boat  on  to  her  side.  James  Walsham  uttered 
an  angry  exclamation. 

"  You  are  a  bad  boy,"  Aggie  said  passionately.  "  You 
are  a  bad  boy  to  break  my  boat;"  and  she  burst  into 
tears. 

"  I  didn't  mean  to  do  it,  you  little  fool ! "  Eichard  said 
angrily,  vexed  more  at  his  own  clumsiness  than  at  the  dam- 
age it  had  caused.  "  What  are  you  making  such  a  beastly 
noise  about  ?  "  and  he  gave  her  a  push. 

It  was  not  a  hard  one,  but  the  ground  was  slippery,  and 
the  child's  foot  slipped,  and  she  fell  at  the  edge  of  the 
pool,  her  dress  going  partly  into  the  water.  At  the  same 
instant  Eichard  reeled  and  almost  fell  beside  her,  from  a 
heavy  blow  between  the  eyes  from  James'  fist. 

"You  insolent  blackguard!"  he  exclaimed  furiously,  " I 
will  pay  you  for  this; "  and  he  rushed  at  James. 

The  combat  was  not  a  long  one.  Hard  work  at  rowing 
and  sailing  had  strengthened  Jim  Walsham's  muscles,  and 
more  than  balanced  the  advantage  in  height  and  age  of  his 
adversary.  He  had  had,  too,  more  than  one  fight  in  his 
time,  and  after  the  first  sudden  burst  of  passion  caused  by 
the  overthrow  of  Aggie,  he  fought  coolly  and  steadily, 
while  Eichard  rained  his  blows  wildly  without  attempting 
to  guard  his  face. 

The  child  on  regaining  her  feet  ran  crying  loudly  toward 
the  beach,  making  for  two  fishermen  who  were  engaged  in 
mending  a  net  some  distance  away;  but  before  she  could 
reach  them  to  beg  for  aid  for  her  champion  the  fight  was 
over,  terminating  by  a  heavy  right-handed  hit  from  James 
which  landed  Eichard  Horton  on  his  back  in  the  pool. 
James  stood  quietly  awaiting  a  renewal  of  the  conflict  when 
he  arose,  but  Eichard  had  had  enough  of  it :  one  of  his  eyes 
was  already  puffed  and  red,  his  nose  bleeding,  and  his  lip 
cut;  his  clothes  were  soaked  from  head  to  foot,  and  smeared 


38  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA;   OR, 

with  red  mud.  "  I  will  pay  you  out  for  this,  you  see  if  1 
don't/'  Richard  gasped  hoarsely. 

"  What !  have  you  had  enough  of  it  ?  "  James  said  scorn- 
fully. "  I  thought  you  weren't  any  good ;  a  fellow  who 
would  bully  a  little  girl  is  sure  to  be  a  coward." 

Eichard  moved  as  If  he  would  renew  the  fight,  but  he 
thought  better  of  it,  and  with  a  furious  exclamation  hur- 
ried away  toward  the  Hall. 

James,  without  paying  any  further  heed  to  him,  waded 
after  the  boat,  and  having  recovered  it  walked  off  toward 
the  child,  who  on  seeing  his  opponent  had  moved  off  was 
running  down  to  meet  him. 

"  Here  is  the  boat,  Aggie,"  he  said ;  "  there  is  no  great 
harm  done,  only  the  mast  and  yard  broken.  I  can  easily 
put  you  in  fresh  ones ; "  but  the  child  paid  no  attention  to 
the  boat. 

"He  is  a  wicked  bad  boy,  Jim;  and  did  he  hurt  you  ?" 

"  Oh,  no,  he  didn't  hurt  me,  Aggie,  at  least  nothing  to 
speak  of.  I  hurt  him  a  good  deal  more;  I  paid  him  out 
well  for  breaking  your  boat  and  pushing  you  down,  the 
cowardly  brute ! " 

"  Only  look,  Jim,"  she  said,  holding  out  her  frock;  "what 
will  she  say  ?  " 

James  laughed. 

"Mother  won't  say  anything,"  he  said;  "she  is  accus- 
tomed to  my  coming  in  all  muddy." 

"But  she  said  'Keen  your  frock  clean,'  and  it's  not 
clean,"  Aggie  said  in  dismay. 

"  Yes,  but  that  is  not  your  fault,  little  one;  I  will  make 
it  all  right  with  her,  don't  you  fret.  Come  on,  we  had 
better  go  home  and  change  it  as  soon  as  possible." 

They  passed  close  by  the  two  fishermen  on  their  way. 

"You  gave  it  to  the  young  squire  finely,  Master  Wal* 
sham,"  one  of  them  said,  "  and  served  him  right,  too.  We 
chanced  to  be  looking  at  the  moment  and  saw  it  all.     He 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  39 

is  a  bad  un,  he  is,  by  what  they  say  up  at  the  Hall.  I 
heard  one  of  the  grooms  talking  last  night  down  at  the 
'  Ship/  and  a  nice  character  he  gave  him.  This  thrashing 
may  do  him  some  good;  and  look  you.  Master  Walsham,  if 
he  makes  a  complaint  to  the  squire,  and  it's  likely  enough 
he  will  get  up  a  fine  story  of  how  it  came  about — the  groom 
said  he  could  lie  like  King  Pharaoh — you  just  send  word 
to  me,  and  me  and  Bill  will  go  up  to  the  squire  and  tell 
him  the  truth  of  the  matter." 

Mrs.  Walsham  felt  somewhat  alarmed  when  her  son  told 
her  what  had  happened,  for  the  squire  was  a  great  man  at 
Sidmouth,  a  magistrate,  and  the  owner  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  place  as  well  as  of  the  land  around  it;  and  although 
Mrs.  Walsham  did  not  hold  the  same  exaggerated  opinion 
of  his  powers  as  did  the  majority  of  his  neighbors,  who 
would  scarcely  have  dreamt  of  opposing  it  had  the  squire 
ordered  any  one  to  be  hung  and  quartered,  still  she  felt  that 
it  was  a  somewhat  terrible  thing  that  her  son  should  have 
thrashed  the  nephew  and  heir  of  the  great  man. 

In  the  evening  there  was  a  knock  at  the  door,  and  the 
little  maid  came  in  with  eyes  wide  open  with  alarm,  for  she 
had  heard  of  the  afternoon's  battle,  to  say  that  the  con- 
stable wished  to  speak  to  Mrs.  Walsham. 

"  Servant,  ma'am,"  he  said  as  he  entered.  "  I  am  sorry 
to  be  here  on  an  unpleasant  business;  but  I  have  got  to  say 
as  the  squire  wishes  to  see  Master  Walsham  in  the  justice- 
room  at  ten  o'clock  on  a  charge  of  'sault  and  battery.  Don't 
you  be  af eard,  ma'am,"  he  went  on  confidentially.  "  I  don't 
think  as  anything  is  going  to  be  done  to  him.  I  ain't  got 
no  warrant,  and  so  I  don't  look  upon  it  as  regular  business. 
I  expects  it  will  be  just  a  blowing  up.  It  will  be  just  the 
squire  and  not  the  magistrate,  I  takes  it.  He  told  me  to 
have  him  up  there  at  ten,  but  as  he  said  nothing  about 
custody  I  thought  I  would  do  it  my  own  way  and  come  to 
you  quiet  like ;   so  if  you  say  as  Master  Walsham  shall  be 


40  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OK, 

up  there  at  ten  o'clock  I'll  just  take  your  word  for  it  and 
won't  come  to  fetch  him.  The  doctor  was  alius  very  good 
to  me  and  my  missus,  and  I  shouldn't  like  to  be  walking 
through  Sidmouth  with  my  hand  on  his  son's  collar." 

"  Thank  you,  Hobson,"  Mrs.  Walsham  said  quietly.  "  You 
can  rely  upon  it  my  son  shall  be  there  punctually ;  he  has 
nothing  to  be  afraid  or  ashamed  of." 

Full  of  rage  as  Eichard  Horton  had  been  as  he  started 
for  home,  he  would  never  have  brought  the  matter  before 
the  squire  on  his  own  account.  His  case  was  too  weak,  and 
he  had  been  thrashed  by  a  boy  younger  than  himself.  Thus 
he  would  have  probably  chosen  some  other  way  of  taking 
his  vengeance;  but  it  happened  that  just  as  he  arrived  home 
he  had  met  his  tutor  coming  out.  The  latter  was  astounded 
at  Eichard's  appearance,  his  eyes  were  already  puffed  so 
much  that  he  could  scarcely  see  out  of  them,  his  lips  were 
cut  and  swollen,  his  shirt  stained  with  blood,  his  clothes 
drenched  and  plastered  with  red  mud. 

"  Why,  what  on  earth  has  happened,  Eichard  ?  " 

Eichard  had  already  determined  upon  his  version  of  the 
story. 

"A  brute  of  a  boy  knocked  me  down  into  the  water,"  he 
said,  "and  then  knocked  me  about  till  he  almost  killed 
me." 

"But  what  made  him  assault  you  in  this  outrageous 
manner  ?  "  his  tutor  asked.  "  Surely  all  the  boys  about  here 
must  know  you  by  sight;  and  how  one  of  them  would  dare 
to  strike  you  I  cannot  conceive."     > 

"I  know  the  fellow,"  Eichard  said  angrily;  "he  is  the 
son  of  that  doctor  fellow  who  died  two  years  ago." 

"But  what  made  him  do  it  ?"  the  tutor  repeated. 

"  He  was  sailing  his  boat  and  it  got  stuck,  and  he  threw 
in  some  stones  to  get  it  off,  and  I  helped  him,  and  I  hap- 
pened to  hit  the  mast  of  his  beastly  boat,  and  then  he  flew 
at  me  like  a  tiger,  and  that's  all." 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  41 

"  Well,  it  seems  to  be  a  monstrous  assault,  Kichard,  and 
you  must  speak  to  the  squire  about  it." 

"  Oh,  no,  I  shan't,"  Richard  said  hastily;  "  I  don't  want 
any  row  about  it,  and  I  will  pay  him  off  some  other  way. 
I  could  lick  him  easy  enough  if  it  had  been  a  fair  fight, 
only  he  knocked  me  down  before  I  was  on  my  guard.  No, 
I  shan't  say  anything  about  it." 

But  Eichard's  tutor  on  thinking  the  matter  over  deter- 
mined to  speak  to  the  squire.  Only  the  evening  before 
Mr.  Linthorne  had  surprised  him  by  asking  him  several 
questions  as  to  Eichard's  progress  and  conduct,  and  had 
said  something  about  examining  him  himself,  to  see  how 
he  was  getting  on.  This  had  caused  Mr.  Eobertson  no  little 
alarm,  for  he  knew  that  even  the  most  superficial  question- 
ing would  betray  the  extent  of  Eichard's  ignorance,  and  he 
had  resolved  that  henceforth  he  would  endeavor  to  assert 
his  authority  and  to  insist  upon  Eichard's  devoting  a  cer- 
tain portion  of  each  day  regularly  to  study.  Should  the 
squire  meet  the  boy  anywhere  about  the  house  he  must  at 
once  notice  the  condition  of  his  face,  and  even  if  he  did  not 
meet  him  he  could  not  fail  to  notice  it  on  Sunday  when  he 
sat  beside  him  in  the  pew.  It  would  be  better,  therefore, 
that  he  should  at  once  report  the  matter  to  him.  Without 
saying  a  word  to  Eichard  of  his  intentions  he  therefore 
went  to  the  squire's  study  and  told  him  what  had  taken 
place  as  he  had  learned  it  from  Eichard.  The  squire  lis- 
tened silently. 

"  Very  well,  Mr.  Eobertson,  you  were  quite  right  to  tell 
me  about  it;  of  course  I  cannot  suffer  my  nephew  to  be 
treated  in  this  manner,  at  the  same  time  I  am  sorry  that  it 
was  Walsham's  son.  I  don't  know  anything  about  the 
boy,  and  should  not  know  him  even  by  sight,  but  I  had  an 
esteem  for  his  father,  who  was  a  hard-working  man,  and  I 
believe  clever;  he  used  to  attend  here  whenever  any  of  the 
servants  were  ill,  and  I  had  intended  to  do  something  for 


42  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA. 

the  boy.  I  am  sorry  he  has  turned  out  so  badly ;  however, 
I  will  have  him  up  here  and  speak  to  him.  This  sort  of 
thing  cannot  be  permitted." 

And  accordingly  orders  were  given  to  the  constable. 
When  in  the  evening  Mr.  Eobertson  informed  Eichard  what 
he  had  done,  the  boy  flew  into  a  terrible  passion,  and  abused 
his  tutor  with  a  violence  of  language  which  shocked  and 
astonished  him,  and  opened  his  eyes  to  his  own  culpability 
in  allowing  him  to  go  on  his  way  unchecked.  He  in  vain 
endeavored  to  silence  the  furious  lad.  He  had  been  so  long 
without  exercising  any  authority  that  he  had  now  no  au- 
thority to  exercise,  and  after  an  angry  scene  Eichard  flung 
himself  out  of  the  room  and  left  his  tutor  in  a  state  bor- 
dering on  consternation. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   JUSTICE-ROOM. 

Richard's  feelings  were  not  to  be  envied  as  he  lay  awake 
that  night  thinking  over  what  had  taken  place  in  the  morn- 
ing. It  had  never  for  a  moment  entered  his  mind  that  his 
tutor  would  repeat  his  statement  to  the  squire,  and  he 
would  have  given  a  good  deal  if  he  had  not  made  it;  how- 
ever, there  was  nothing  for  him  now  but  to  stick  to  the 
story,  and  he  felt  but  little  doubt  of  the  result.  He  had 
no  idea  that  any  but  the  actors  in  it  had  witnessed  the 
scene  by  the  pool,  and  he  felt  confident  that  his  uncle 
would,  as  a  matter  of  course,  take  his  word  in  preference 
to  that  of  this  boy,  who  would  naturally  tell  lies  to  screen 
himself.  Of  course  the  child  was  there,  but  no  one  would 
mind  what  a  baby  like  that  said.  Still  it  was  a  nuisance, 
and  he  gnashed  his  teeth  with  rage  at  the  interference  of 
his  tutor  in  the  matter. 

"  I  will  get  rid  of  him  somehow  before  long,"  he  said. 
ie  I  will  pay  him  out  for  his  meddling  as  sure  as  my  name's 
Richard  Horton.  I  will  get  him  out  of  this  before  three 
months  are  gone." 

The  next  morning  at  breakfast  Richard  received  a  mes- 
sage from  the  squire  that  he  was  to  be  present  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  justice-room,  and  accordingly  at  that  hour  he  pre- 
sented himself  there  with  a  confident  air,  but  with  an  in- 
ward feeling  of  misgiving.  The  squire  was  sitting  at  his 
table  with  his  clerk  beside  him.     Mr.  Robertson  was  in  a 


44  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

chair  a  short  distance  off.  The  constable  was  standing  by 
the  side  of  James  Walsham  at  the  other  end  of  the  room. 
Mr.  Linthorne  nodded  to  his  nephew. 

"I  wish  you  to  repeat  the  story  which  you  told  Mr. 
Eobertson  yesterday." 

Eichard  had  thought  over  whether  it  would  be  better  to 
soften  his  story,  but  as  it  had  already  been  told  to  the 
squire  he  had  concluded  that  there  would  be  more  danger 
in  contradicting  his  first  version  than  in  sticking  to  it. 
Accordingly  he  repeated  his  story  almost  word  for  word  as 
he  had  told  it  to  Mr.  Eobertson. 

"  What  have  you  to  say  to  this,  James  Walsham  ?  "  the 
squire  asked.  "  This  is  a  serious  charge,  that  you  without 
any  provocation  assaulted  and  maltreated  my  nephew." 

"  I  say  it  is  all  a  lie,  sir,"  James  said  fearlessly. 

The  squire  uttered  a  short  exclamation  of  surprise  and 
anger.  He  had  been  at  first  favorably  impressed  with  the 
appearance  of  the  young  prisoner,  though  he  had  been 
surprised  at  seeing  that  he  was  younger  than  his  nephew£ 
for  he  had  expected  to  see  a  much  older  boy. 

"  That  is  not  the  way  to  speak,  sir,"  he  said  sternly,  while 
the  constable  pressed  a  warning  hand  on  James's  shoulder. 

"  Well,  sir,  it's  not  true  then,"  the  boy  said;  "it's  all 
false  from  beginning  to  end,  except  that  I  did  strike  him 
first;  but  I  struck  him,  not  because  he  had  thrown  a  great 
stone  and  broken  my  boat,  but  because  he  pushed  a  little 
girl  who  was  with  me  down  into  the  water." 

"  She  slipped  down ;  I  never  pushed  her,"  Eichard  broke 
in. 

"Hold  your  tongue,  sir,"  the  squire  said  sternly;  "you 
have  given  your  evidence.  I  have  now  to  hear  what  the 
accused  has  to  say.     Now  tell  your  story." 

James  now  gave  his  version  of  the  affair. 

When  he  had  ended  Mr.  Linthorne  said  gravely,  "  Have 
you  any  witnesses  to  call  ?  " 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  45 

fi  Yes,  sir,  there  are  two  fishermen  outside  who  saw  it." 

"  Bring  them  in,"  the  magistrate  said  to  the  constable. 

Not  a  word  was  spoken  in  the  justice-room  until  the  con* 
stable  returned.  As  James  had  told  his  story  the  magis- 
trate had  listened  with  disbelief;  it  had  not  occurred  to 
him  that  his  nephew  could  have  told  a  lie,  and  he  wondered 
at  the  calmness  with  which  this  boy  told  his  story.  Why, 
were  it  true,  Eichard  was  a  coward  as  well  as  a  liar,  for  with 
his  superior  age  and  height  he  should  have  been  able  to 
thrash  this  boy  in  a  fair  fight,  yet  James's  face  had  not  a 
mark,  while  his  nephew's  showed  how  severely  he  had  been 
punished.  But  his  eye  fell  upon  Eichard  when  James  said 
that  he  had  witnesses;  he  saw  an  unmistakable  look  of 
terror  came  over  his  face,  and  the  bitter  conviction  flashed 
across  him  that  James's  story  was  the  true  one. 

"  There  is  no  occasion  to  give  him  the  book,  Hobson," 
he  said  as  the  constable  was  about  to  hand  the  Testament 
to  one  of  the  fishermen ;  "  this  is  a  private  investigation, 
not  a  formal  magisterial  sitting,  and  there  is  no  occasion 
at  this  stage  to  take  any  evidence  on  oath." 

"  What  is  your  name,  my  man  ?  " 

"John  Mullens,  your  honor." 

"  Well,  just  tell  me,  Mullens,  what  you  know  about  this 
business." 

"  I  was  a-mending  my  nets,  yer  honor,  along  with  Simon 
Harte,  and  young  Master  Walsham  was  a-sailing  his  boat 
in  a  pool  along  with  the  little  gal  as  lives  at  his  mother's." 

"  How  far  were  you  from  the  spot  where  he  was  ?  "  the 
squire  asked. 

"  Two  hundred  yards  or  so,  I  should  say,"  the  fisherman 
replied;  "we  was  working  behind  a  boat,  but  we  could  see 
over  it  well  enough;  presently  we  saw  Master  Horton  come 
down  and  stand  alongside  the  others.  I  said  to  Simon,  '  He 
is  a  good-looking  young  fellow,  is  the  squire's  nephew/  " 
and  the  fisherman's  eye  twinkled  with  a  grim  humor  as  he 


46  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

glanced  at  Eichard's  swollen  face.  "  The  boat  got  stuck 
and  Master  Walsham  threw  something  in  close  to  it  to  get 
it  off,  then  I  see  Master  Horton  stoop  and  pick  up  a  chunk 
of  stone  and  chuck  it  hard,  and  it  hit  the  boat  and  knocked 
it  over;  I  see  the  little  girl  turn  round  and  say  something 
to  Master  Horton,  and  then  she  put  her  apron  up  to  her 
face  and  began  to  cry;  he  gave  her  a  sort  of  shove  and  she 
tumbled  down  into  the  edge  of  the  pool.  I  says  to  Simon, 
'  What  a  shame ! '  but  afore  the  words  was  out  of  my  mouth 
Master  Walsham  he  hits  him,  and  hits  him  hard  too;  then 
there  was  a  fight,  but  Master  Horton  he  hadn't  a  chance 
with  James,  who  gave  him  as  sound  a  licking  as  ever  you 
see'd  and  ending  with  knocking  him  backward  into  the 
pool;  then  he  gets  up  and  shakes  his  fist  at  James  and  then 
goes  off  as  hard  as  he  could.     That's  all  I  know  about  it." 

"  It's  a  wicked  lie,"  Richard  burst  out ;  "  they  have  made 
it  up  between  them.     There  was  nobody  there." 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  sir,  I  tell  you,"  the  squire  said  so 
sternly  that  Eichard,  who  had  risen  from  his  seat,  shrank 
back  again  and  remained  silent;  while  Simon  Harte  gave 
his  evidence,  which  was  almost  identical  with  that  of  the 
other  fisherman. 

"  Have  you  any  other  witnesses  ?  "  the  magistrate  asked 
James. 

"  Only  the  little  girl,  sir,  but  I  did  not  bring  her  up;  she 
is  so  little  I  thought  it  was  better  she  should  not  come,  but 
I  can  send  for  her  if  you  wish  it." 

"It  is  not  necessary,"  Mr.  Linthorne  said.  "I  have  heard 
oolite  sufficient.  The  manner  in  which  you  and  these  fisher- 
men have  given  your  evidence  convinces  me  that  you  are 
speaking  the  truth,  and  I  am  sorry  that  you  should  have 
been  placed  in  this  position.  You  will  understand  that 
this  is  not  a  formal  court,  and  therefore  that  there  is  no 
question  of  discharging  you.  I  can  only  say  that  having 
heard  the  story  of  what  took  place  at  this  fight  between 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  47 

you  and  my  nephew,  I  am  convinced  that  you  did  what  any 
other  boy  of  spirit  would  have  done  under  the  same  circum- 
stances, and  that  the  punishment  which  you  administered 
to  him  was  thoroughly  deserved.     Good-morning!" 

James  Walsham  and  his  witnesses  left  the  rOom.  Mr. 
Linthorne  rose,  and  saying  to  his  nephew,  "  Follow  me,  sir," 
went  to  his  study.  Without  saying  a  word  as  to  what  had 
passed,  he  took  down  some  books  from  the  shelves  and 
proceeded  to  examine  Richard  in  them.  A  few  minutes 
^sufficed  to  show  that  the  boy  was  almost  absolutely  ignorant 
of  Latin,  while  a  few  questions  in  geography  and  history 
showed  that  he  was  equally  deficient  in  these  also. 

"  That  will  do,"  the  squire  said.  "  Go  up  to  your  room, 
and  remain  there  until  I  send  for  you." 

An  hour  after  this  a  dog-cart  came  round  to  the  door. 
Mr.  Eobertson  took  his  place  in  it  with  his  trunk,  and  was 
driven  away  to  Exeter  never  to  return.  For  two  days 
Richard  remained  a  prisoner  in  his  room.  His  meals  were 
brought  up  to  him,  but  the  servant  who  came  with  them 
answered  no  questions,  telling  him  that  the  squire's  orders 
were  that  he  was  not  to  hold  any  conversation  with  him. 
There  was  indeed  a  deep  pleasure  among  the  servants  at 
the  Hall  at  the  knowledge  that  Richard  Horton  was  in  dis- 
grace. The  exact  circumstances  of  the  affair  were  unknown, 
for  the  fishermen  had  not  been  present  when  Richard  had 
told  his  story,  and  Mrs.  Walsham,  who  was  much  shocked 
when  James  told  her  the  circumstances,  had  impressed 
upon  him  that  it  was  better  to  say  nothing  more  about  it. 
"  You  are  clear  in  the  matter,  Jim,  and  that  is  enough  for 
you.  The  squire  will  no  doubt  punish  his  nephew  for  the 
wicked  lies  he  has  told.  Some  day,  you  know,  the  boy  will 
be  master  here;  don't  let  us  set  every  one  against  him  by 
telling  this  disgraceful  story." 

So  beyond  the  fact  that  there  had  been  a  fight  between 
James  Walsham  and  the  squire's  nephew,  and  that  Richard 


48  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

Horton  had  been  thrashed,  and  that  the  squire  himself  had 
said  that  it  served  him  right,  Sidmouth  knew  nothing  of 
what  had  taken  place  in  the  justice-room. 

Mr.  Linthorne's  first  impulse  had  been  to  send  his  nephew 
at  once  back  to  his  parents,  with  the  message  that  he  would 
have  nothing  more  to  do  with  him;  but  though  he  had  the 
reputation  of  being  a  stern  man,  the  squire  was  a  very  kind- 
hearted  one.  He  was  shocked  to  find  that  the  boy  was  a 
liar,  and  that  to  shield  himself  he  had  invented  this  false- 
hood against  his  opponent;  but  upon  reflection  he  acknowl- 
edged that  he  himself  had  been  to  blame  in  the  matter. 
He  had  taken  the  boy  into  his  house,  had  assigned  to  him 
the  position  of  his  heir,  and  had  paid  no  further  attention 
to  him. 

Unfortunately  the  man  he  had  selected  as  his  tutor  had 
proved  false  to  the  trust.  The  boy  had  been  permitted  to 
run  wild,  his  head  was  turned  with  the  change  in  his  pros- 
pects, his  faults  had  grown  unchecked.  It  was  to  be  said 
for  him  that  he  had  not  intended  in  the  first  place  to  bring 
his  opponent  into  disgrace  by  making  this  false  accusation 
against  him,  for  his  tutor  had  acknowledged  that  he  had 
said  he  did  not  intend  to  tell  him  or  to  take  any  step  in 
the  matter,  and  his  position  of  accuser  had  been  to  some 
extent  forced  upon  him  by  the  necessity  of  his  confirming 
the  tale  which  he  had  told  to  account  for  his  being  thrashed 
by  a  boy  smaller  than  himself. 

Yes,  it  would  be  unfair  upon  the  boy  utterly  to  cast  him 
off  for  this  first  offence;  he  would  gave  him  one  more  trial. 
The  result  of  the  squire's  reflection  was  that  on  the  third 
day  of  his  imprisonment  Eichard  was  sent  for  to  the  study. 
The  squire  did  not  motion  to  him  to  sit  down,  and  he  re- 
mained standing  with,  as  the  squire  said  to  himself,  a  hang- 
dog look  upon  his  face. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  over  this  matter  quietly,  Richard, 
for  I  did  not  wish  to  come  to  any  hasty  conclusion.     My 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  49 

first  impulse  was  to  pack  you  off  home  and  have  no  more 
to  do  with  you,  but  I  have  thought  better  of  it.  Mean  and 
despicable  as  your  conduct  has  been,  I  take  some  blame  to 
myself  for  not  having  seen  that  your  tutor  did  his  duty  by 
you,  therefore  I  have  resolved  to  give  you  another  chance, 
but  not  here.  I  could  not  bear  to  have  a  boy  who  has 
proved  himself  a  despicable  liar  about  me;  but  I  will  try 
and  think  that  this  was  a  first  offence,  and  that  the  lesson 
which  it  has  taught  you  may  influence  all  your  future  life, 
and  that  you  may  yet  grow  up  an  honorable  man. 

"  But  you  will  remember  that  henceforth  you  are  on  trial, 
and  that  the  position  in  which  you  will  stand  by  my  will, 
will  depend  solely  and  entirely  on  your  own  conduct.  If 
you  prove  by  that  that  this  lesson  has  had  its  effect,  that 
you  deeply  repent  of  your  conduct,  and  are  resolved  to 
do  your  best  to  be  henceforth  straight,  honorable,  and  true, 
you  will  at  my  death  occupy  the  position  I  have  intended 
for  you;  if  not,  not  one  single  penny  of  my  money  will 
you  get.  I  am  going  to  put  you  in  a  school  where  you  will 
be  looked  strictly  after,  and  where  you  will  have  every 
chance  of  retrieving  yourself.  I  have  just  written  to  a 
friend  of  mine,  a  post-captain  in  his  majesty's  service,  ask- 
ing him  to  receive  you  as  a  midshipman.  I  have  told  him 
frankly  that  you  have  been  somewhat  over-indulged,  and 
that  the  discipline  of  the  sea  life  will  be  of  great  benefit  to 
you,  and  have  requested  him  to  keep  a  tight  hand  over  you 
and  let  me  know  occasionally  how  you  are  going  on.  I 
have  told  him  that  your  position  as  my  heir  will  to  a  very 
large  extent  depend  upon  his  reports,  and  have  asked  him, 
in  the  name  of  our  old  friendship,  to  be  perfectly  frank 
and  open  in  them  with  me.  I  have  said  '  he  is  my  eldest 
nephew,  but  I  have  others  who  will  take  his  place  if  he  is 
unworthy  of  the  position,  and  although  I  should  be  sorry 
if  he  should  be  found  wanting,  I  will  commit  the  interests 
of  all  the  tenants  and  people  on  my  estate  to  no  one  who  is 

A 


50  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

not  in  every  respect  an  honorable  gentleman.'  That  will 
do,  sir.  You  need  not  remain  longer  in  your  room,  but 
you  will  not  leave  the  grounds.  My  friend's  ship  is  at 
Portsmouth  at  present,  and  doubtless  I  shall  receive  an  an- 
swer in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  Until  then  the  less  we 
see  each  other  the  more  pleasant  for  us  both." 

There  were  few  more  miserable  boys  in  England  than 
Richard  Horton  during  the  week  which  elapsed  before  the 
answer  to  the  squire's  letter  was  received.  It  cannot  be 
said  that  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  he  was  sorry  for  his 
fault.  He  was  furious  with  himself,  not  because  he  had 
lied,  but  because  of  the  consequences  of  the  lie. 

A  thousand  times  he  called  himself  a  fool  for  having  im- 
perilled his  position,  and  risked  being  sent  back  again  to 
the  dingy  house  in  London,  merely  to  excuse  himself  for 
being  thrashed  by  a  boy  smaller  than  himself.  Mad  with 
his  folly,  not  in  having  invented  the  story,  but  in  having 
neglected  to  look  round  to  assure  himself  that  there  were 
no  witnesses  who  would  contradict  it,  he  wandered  discon- 
solate about  the  gardens  and  park,  cursing  what  he  called 
his  fortune. 

It  was  an  additional  sting  to  his  humiliation  that  he 
knew  every  servant  in  and  about  the  house  rejoiced  at  his 
discomfiture,  and  he  imagined  that  there  was  a  veiled  smile 
of  satisfaction  at  his  bruised  visage  and  his  notorious  dis- 
grace with  the  squire  on  the  face  of  every  man  he  met 
outside,  and  of  every  woman  who  passed  him  in  the  house. 
During  the  whole  week  he  did  not  venture  near  the  stables, 
for  there  he  knew  that  he  had  rendered  himself  specially 
obnoxious,  and  there  was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to 
saunter  listlessly  about  the  garden  until  the  day  arrived 
that  the  letter  came  granting  the  squire's  request,  and  beg- 
ging that  he  might  be  sent  off  at  once,  as  the  vessel  would 
probably  put  to  sea  in  a  few  days . 

"Xow,  Eichard,"  the  squire  said  that  evening  to  him  in 


THE   WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  51 

a  kinder  voice  than  he  had  used  on  the  last  occasion,  "  you 
understand  exactly  how  we  stand  toward  each  other.  That 
being  so,  I  do  not  wish  to  maintain  our  present  uncom- 
fortable relations.  You  have  had  your  punishment,  and 
unless  I  hear  to  the  contrary  I  shall  assume  that  the  pun- 
ishment has  had  its  effect.  When  you  return  from  sea  after 
your  first  voyage  you  will  come  home  here  as  if  nothing  had 
happened,  and  this  business  need  never  be  alluded  to  be- 
tween us.  If  you  turn  out  as  I  have  hitherto  believed  you 
to  be,  I  shall  receive  you.  as  warmly  as  if  my  opinion  of 
you  had  never  been  shaken. 

"  I  have  requested  Captain  Sinclair  to  let  me  know  what 
is  the  average  allowance  that  the  midshipmen  receive  from 
their  parents,  and  shall  see  that  you  have  as  much  as  your 
messmates.  I  have  also  asked  him  to  kindly  allow  one  of 
his  officers  to  order  you  a  proper  outfit  in  all  respects,  and 
to  have  the  bill  sent  in  to  me.  So  now,  my  boy,  you  will 
have  a  fresh  and  a  fair  start,  and  I  trust  that  you  will  turn 
out  everything  that  I  can  wish." 

"I  will  try,  sir,  I  will  indeed,"  Richard  said  earnestly; 
and  he  spoke  from  his  heart,  for  the  inheritance  was  very 
dear  to  him,  and  it  would  be  a  terrible  thing  indeed  to  for- 
feit it. 

For  two  years  after  Eichard  Horton's  departure  things 
went  on  quietly  at  Sidmouth.  James  Walsham  continued 
to  make  a  pet  and  a  playmate  of  little  Aggie.  Her  out-of- 
door  life  had  made  her  strong  and  sturdy,  and  she  was  able 
to  accompany  him  in  all  his  rambles,  while  when  he  was 
at  work  at  home  preparing  fishing-lines,  making  boats,  or 
otherwise  amusing  himself,  she  was  content  to  sit  hours 
quietly  beside  him  chattering  incessantly,  and  quite  content 
with  an  occasional  brief  answer  to  her  questions.  When 
he  was  studying  she  too  would  work  at  her  lessons;  and 
however  much  she  might  be  puzzled  over  these,  she  would 
never  disturb  him  by  asking  him  questions  when  so  engaged. 


52  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

She  was  an  intelligent  child,  and  the  hour's  lesson,  morn- 
ing and  afternoon,  soon  grew  into  two.  She  was  eager  to 
learn,  and  rapidly  gained  ground  on  Mrs.  Walsham's  older 
pupils.  During  the  two  years  that  lady  never  had  cause 
to  regret  that  she  had  yielded  to  the  sergeant's  entreaties. 
Aggie  was  no  trouble  in  the  house,  which  she  brightened 
with  her  childish  laughter  and  merry  talk,  and  her  com- 
panionship, James'  mother  could  not  but  think,  did  the 
boy  much  good.  It  softened  his  manner,  and  although  he 
still  often  went  out  with  the  fishermen,  he  was  no  longer 
thrown  entirely  for  companionship  upon  the  boys  on  the 
beach. 

The  sergeant  came  and  went,  seldom  being  more  than 
two  months  without  paying  a  visit  to  Sidmouth.  The  child 
was  always  delighted  to  see  her  grandfather,  and  James 
took  to  him  greatly,  and  liked  nothing  better  than  to  stroll 
up  with  him  to  a  sheltered  spot  on  the  hillside,  where  he 
would  throw  himself  down  on  the  grass,  while  the  sergeant 
smoked  his  pipe  and  told  him  stories  of  his  travels  and  ad- 
ventures, and  Aggie  ran  about  looking  for  wild  flowers,  or 
occasionally  sat  down  for  a  while  to  listen  also.  The  squire 
lived  his  usual  lonely  life  up  at  the  Hall.  The  absence  of 
his  nephew,  whose  ship  had  sailed  for  a  foreign  station, 
was  a  relief  rather  than  otherwise  to  him.  It  had  from 
the  first  been  a  painful  effort  to  him  to  regard  this  boy  as 
his  heir,  and  he  had  only  done  it  when  heart-sick  from  a 
long  and  fruitless  search  for  one  who  would  have  been 
nearer  and  dearer  to  him.  Nor  had  he  ever  taken  to  the 
lad  personally.  The  squire  felt  that  there  was  not  the  ring 
of  true  metal  in  him.  The  careless  way  in  which  he  spoke 
of  his  parents  showed  a  want  of  heart;  and  although  his 
uncle  was  ignorant  how  much  the  boy  made  himself  dis- 
liked in  the  household,  he  was  conscious  himself  of  a  cer- 
tain antipathy  for  him,  which  led  him  to  see  as  little  of 
him  as  possible. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  53 

The  two  years  for  which  the  sergeant  had  placed  his 
grandchild  with  Mrs.  Walsham  came  to  an  end.  That  he 
did  not  intend  to  continue  the  arrangement  she  judged 
from  something  he  said  on  the  occasion  of  his  last  visit 
two  months  before  the  time  was  up,  but  he  gave  no  hint 
as  to  what  he  intended  to  do  with  her. 

In  those  weeks  Mrs.  Walsham  frequently  thought  the 
matter  over.  That  the  sergeant  had  plans  for  the  child 
she  could  hardly  doubt.  The  child  herself  had  told  her 
that  she  knew  of  no  other  relations  than  her  grandfather, 
and  yet  he  could  hardly  intend  to  take  her  about  with  him, 
after  placing  her  for  two  years  in  a  comfortable  home.  She 
was  but  seven  years  old  now — far  too  young  to  go  out  into 
a  place  as  servant-girl  in  a  farm-house.  She  doubted  not 
that  the  sergeant  had  expended  the  whole  of  his  savings, 
and  she  thought  him  foolish  in  not  having  kept  her  with 
him  for  some  little  time  longer,  or  if  he  could  not  do  that 
he  might  have  placed  her  with  some  honest  people  who 
would  have  kept  her  for  the  sum  he  had  paid  until  she  was 
old  enough  to  take  a  place  as  a  nurse  girl.  And  yet  while 
she  argued  thus,  Mrs.  Walsham  felt  that  the  old  showman 
had  not  acted  without  weighing  the  whole  matter.  There 
must  be  something  in  it  which  she  did  not  understand.  Id 
fact,  he  had  said  so  when  he  placed  the  child  with  her. 
As  the  time  approached  she  became  more  worried  at  the 
thought  of  Aggie  leaving  her.  The  little  one  had  wound 
herself  very  closely  round  her  heart.  The  expense  of  keep- 
ing her  was  small  indeed;  the  cost  of  her  food  next  tc 
nothing;  while  the  extra  girl  whom  Mrs.  Walsham  had 
taken  on  when  she  first  came  had  been  retained  but  a  very 
short  time,  James'  constant  companionship  with  her  ren- 
dering the  keeping  of  a  nurse  altogether  unnecessary. 

At  last  she  made  up  her  mind  that  she  would  offer  to 
keep  her  on  without  pay.  She  and  James  would  miss  her 
companionship  sorely,  and  it  could  not  be  considered  an  ex- 


54  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

travagance,  since  the  money  she  had  received  for  her  would 
pay  for  the  cost  of  her  keep  for  years  to  come.  "When  Mrs. 
Walsham' s  mind  was  once  made  up,  her  only  fear  was  that 
these  mysterious  plans  of  the  sergeant  would  not  allow 
him  to  leave  Aggie  with  her. 

Punctual  to  the  day  Sergeant  Wilks  arrived,  and  after  a 
little  talk  in  the  parlor,  as  usual,  with  James  and  Aggie 
present,  he  formally  requested  the  favor  of  a  conversation 
with  Mrs.  Wulsham  alone. 

"Take  Aggie  for  a  walk,  James;  do  not  stay  out  above 
three-quarters  of  an  hour,  as  your  tea  will  be  ready  for  you 
then." 

"  You  must  have  wondered,  ma'am,  a  good  deal,"  the  ser- 
geant began  when  they  were  alone,  "  why  I,  who  get  my 
living  by  travelling  the  country  with  a  peep-show,  wished 
to  place  my  grandchild  in  a  position  above  her,  and  to  have 
her  taught  to  be  a  little  lady.  It  is  time  now  that  I  should 
tell  you.  Aggie  is  my  granddaughter,  but  she  is  the  grand- 
daughter, too,  of  Squire  Linthorne  up  at  the  Hall." 

"  Bless  me ! "  Mrs.  Walsham  ejaculated,  too  astonished 
for  any  further  expression  of  her  feelings. 

"Yes,  ma'am,  she  is  the  daughter  of  the  squir  "s  son 
Herbert,  who  married  my  daughter  Cissie." 

"  Dear  me,  dear  me,"  Mrs.  Walsham  said,  "  what  an  ex- 
traordinary thing!  Of  course  I  remember  Herbert  Lin- 
thorne, a  handsome,  pleasant  young  f  elloAV.  He  was  on  bad 
terms,  as  every  one  heard,  eight  years  ago,  with  his  father, 
because  he  married  somebody  beneath — I  mean  somebody 
of  whom  the  squire  did  not  approve.  A  year  afterward  we 
heard  that  he  was  dead,  and  there  was  a  report  that  his 
wife  was  dead  too,  but  that  was  only  a  rumor.  The  squire 
went  away  just  at  the  time,  and  did  not  come  back  for 
months  afterward,  and  after  that  he  was  altogether  changed. 
Before,  he  had  been  one  of  the  most  popular  men  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  but  now  he  shut  himself  up,  gave  up 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  55 

all  his  acquaintances,  and  never  went  outside  the  park 
gates  except  to  come  down  to  church.  I  remember  it  gave 
us  quite  a  shock  when  we  saw  him  for  the  first  time — he 
seemed  to  have  grown  an  old  man  all  at  once.  Every  one 
■said  that  the  death  of  his  son  had  broken  his  heart.  And 
Aggie  is  his  granddaughter !  Well,  well,  you  have  aston- 
ished me.     But  why  did  you  not  tell  me  before  ?  " 

"  There  were  a  good  many  reasons,  ma'am.  I  thought  in 
the  first  place  you  might  refuse  me,  if  you  knew,  for  it  might 
do  you  harm.  The  squire  is  a  vindictive  man,  and  he  is 
landlord  of  your  house;  and  if  he  came  to  know  that  you 
had  knowingly  taken  in  his  granddaughter  there  was  no 
saying  how  he  might  have  viewed  it.  Then,  if  you  had 
known  it,  you  might  have  thought  you  ought  to  keep  her 
in,  and  not  let  her  run  about  the  country  with  your  son; 
and  altogether  it  would  not  have  been  so  comfortable  for 
you  or  her.  I  chose  to  put  her  at  Sidmouth  because  I 
wanted  to  come  here  often  to  hear  how  the  squire  was  going 
on;  for  if  he  had  been  taken  ill  I  should  have  told  him 
sooner  than  I  intended." 

"  But  why  did  you  not  tell  him  before  ?  "  Mrs.  Walsham 
asked. 

"Just  selfishness,  ma'am.  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  run 
the  risk  of  having  to  give  her  up.  She  was  mine  as  much 
as  his,  and  was  a  hundred  times  more  to  me  than  she  could 
be  to  him.  I  took  her  a  baby  from  her  dead  mother's  arms. 
I  fed  her  and  nursed  her,  taught  her  her  first  words  and  her 
first  prayer.  Why  should  I  offer  to  give  her  up  to  him,  who 
likely  enough  would  not  accept  the  offer  when  it  was  made 
to  him  ?  But  I  always  intended  to  make  it  some  day.  It 
was  my  duty  to  give  her  the  chance  at  least;  but  I  kept  on 
putting  off  the  day  till  that  Saturday  when  she  was  so 
nearly  drowned;  then  I  saw  my  duty  before  me. 

"  I  had  from  the  first  put  aside  a  hundred  pounds  to  give 
her  more  of  an  education  than  I  could  do;  but  if  it  hadn't 


56  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

been  for  that  fall  into  the  sea  it  might  have  been  years 
before  I  carried  out  my  plan.  Then  I  saw  it  could  not  go 
on  any  longer.  She  was  getting  too  old  and  too  bold  to  sit 
quiet  while  I  was  showing  my  box.  She  had  had  a  narrow 
escape,  and  who  could  say  what  might  happen  the  next 
time  she  got  into  mischief  ?  Then  I  bethought  me  that  the 
squire  was  growing  old,  and  that  it  was  better  not  to  put 
it  off  too  long,  so,  ma'am,  I  came  to  you  and  made  up  my 
mind  to  put  her  with  you." 

"And  you  had  your  way,"  Mrs.  Walsham  said,  smiling, 
"  though  it  was  with  some  difficulty." 

"I  expected  it  would  be  difficult,  ma'am;  but  I  made  up 
my  mind  to  that,  and  had  you  kept  on  refusing  I  should 
as  a  last  chance  have  told  you  whose  child  she  was." 

"  But  why  me  ?  "  Mrs.  Walsham  asked.  "  Why  were  you 
so  particularly  anxious  that  she  should  come  to  me  of  all 
people  ?  " 

The  sergeant  smiled. 

"  It's  difficult  to  tell  you,  ma'am,  but  I  had  a  reason." 

"  But  what  was  it  ?  "  Mrs.  Walsham  persisted. 

The  sergeant  hesitated. 

"  You  may  think  me  an  old  fool,  ma'am,  but  I  will  tell 
you  what  fancy  came  into  my  mind.  Your  son  saved 
Aggie's  life;  he  was  twelve  years  old,  she  was  five,  seven 
years'  difference." 

"  Why,  what  nonsense,  sergeant !  "  Mrs.  Walsham  broke 
in  with  a  laugh.  "  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  fancy  en- 
tered your  head  ?  " 

"  It  did,  ma'am,"  Sergeant  Wilks  said  gravely.  "  I  liked 
the  look  of  the  boy  much.  He  was  brave  and  modest,  and 
a  gentleman.  I  spoke  about  him  to  the  fishermen  that 
night,  and  every  one  had  a  good  word  for  him ;  so  I  said  to 
myself,  '  I  can't  reward  him  for  what  he  has  done  directly, 
but  it  may  be  that  I  can  indirectly.'  Aggie  is  only  a  child, 
but  she  has  a  loving,  faithful  little  heart,  and  I  said  to  my- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  57 

self,  '  If  I  throw  her  with  this  boy,  who,  she  knows,  has 
saved  her  life,  for  two  years,  she  is  sure  to  have  a  strong 
affection  for  him/ 

"  Many  things  may  happen  afterward;  if  the  squire  takes 
her  they  will  be  separated.  He  may  get  to  care  for  some  one, 
and  so  may  she,  but  it's  just  giving  him  a  chance.  Then, 
too,  I  thought  a  little  about  myself.  I  liked  to  fancy  that 
even  though  she  would  have  to  go  from  me  to  the  squire,  my 
little  plan  may  yet  turn  out,  and  it  would  be  I,  not  he,  who 
had  arranged  for  the  future  happiness  of  my  little  darling. 
I  shouldn't  have  told  you  all  this,  ma'am ;  but  you  would 
have  it." 

"  I  am  glad  you  brought  her  to  me,  Sergeant  Wilks,  any- 
how," Mrs.  Walsham  said, "  for  I  love  her  dearly,  and  she  has 
been  a  great  pleasure  to  me ;  but  what  you  are  talking  about 
is  simply  nonsense.  My  son  is  a  good  boy,  and  will,  I  hojDe, 
grow  up  an  honorable  gentleman  like  his  father;  but  he  can- 
not look  so  high  as  the  granddaughter  of  Squire  Linthorne." 

"More  unequal  marriages  have  been  made  than  that, 
ma'am,"  the  sergeant  said  sturdily;  "but  we  won't  say 
more  about  it.  I  have  thought  it  over  and  over  many  a 
hundred  times  as  I  wheeled  my  box  across  the  hills,  and  it 
don't  seem  to  me  impossible.  I  will  agree  that  the  squire 
would  never  say  yes;  but  the  squire  may  be  in  his  grave 
years  before  Aggie  comes  to  think  about  marriage;  besides, 
it  is  more  than  likely  that  he  will  have  nothing  to  say  to 
my  pet.  If  his  pride  made  him  cast  his  son  off  rather  than 
acknowledge  my  daughter  as  his,  it  will  keep  him  from 
acknowledging  her  daughter  as  his  grandchild.  I  hope  it 
will,  with  all  my  heart;  I  hope  so." 

"In  that  case,  Sergeant  Wilks,"  Mrs.  "Walsham  said,  "let 
this  be  her  home  for  the  time.  Before  you  told  me  your 
story  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  ask  you  to  let  her  remain 
with  me.  You  need  feel  under  no  obligation,  for  the  money 
you  have  paid  me  is  amply  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  expenses 


58  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

of  what  she  eats  for  years.  It  will  be  a  real  pleasure  for 
me  to  keep  her,  for  she  has  become  a  part  of  the  house, 
and  we  should  miss  her  sorely  indeed.  She  is  quick  and 
intelligent,  and  I  will  teach  her  all  I  know,  and  can  train 
her  up  to  take  a  situation  as  a  governess  in  a  gentleman's 
family,  or  perhaps — "  and  she  laughed.  "  Your  little  ro- 
mance might  come  true  some  day,  and  she  can  in  that  case 
stop  in  this  home  until  James  makes  her  another." 

"You  are  very  kind,  ma'am,"  the  sergeant  said;  "truly 
kind  indeed;  and  I  humbly  accept  your  offer,  except  that  so 
long  as  I  live  she  shall  be  no  expense  to  you.  I  earn  more 
than  enough  for  my  wants,  and  can  at  any  rate  do  something 
toward  preventing  her  being  altogether  a  burden  on  your 
hands.  And  now,  ma'am,  how  would  you  recommend  me 
to  go  to  work  with  the  vindictive  old  man  up  at  the  Hall  ?  " 

"  I  shouldn't  have  thought  he  was  vindictive.  That  is 
not  at  all  the  character  he  bears." 

"No,"  the  sergeant  said,  "I  hear  him  spoken  well  of; 
but  I  have  seen  in  other  cases  men  who  have  had  the  name 
of  being  pleasant  and  generous  were  yet  tyrants  and  brutes 
in  their  own  family.  I  judge  him  as  I  found  him — a  hard- 
hearted, tyrannical,  vindictive  father.  I  think  I  had  better 
not  see  him  myself.  We  have  never  met.  I  have  never 
set  eyes  on  him  save  here  in  church;  but  he  regards  me  as 
responsible  for  the  folly  of  his  son.  He  wrote  me  a  violent 
letter,  and  said  I  had  inveigled  the  lad  into  the  marriage; 
and  although  I  might  have  told  him  it  was  false  I  did  not 
answer  his  letter,  for  the  mischief  was  done  then,  and  I 
hoped  he  would  cool  down  in  time.  However,  that  is  all 
past  now;  but  I  don't  wish  to  see  him.  I  was  thinking  of 
letting  the  child  go  to  the  Hall  by  herself  and  drop  in  sud- 
denly upon  him.  She  is  very  like  her  father,  and  may 
possibly  take  his  heart  by  storm." 

"  Yes,"  Mrs.  Walsham  assented.  "  Now  I  know  who  she 
is,  I  can  see  the  likeness  strongly.     Yes;   I  should  think 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  59 

that  that  would  be  the  best  way.  People  often  yield  to  a 
sudden  impulse  who  will  resist  if  approaclied  formally  or 
from  a  distance.  But  have  you  any  reason  to  suppose  that 
he  will  not  receive  her  ?  Did  he  refuse  at  first  to  undertake 
the  charge  of  the  child  ?  Does  he  even  know  that  she  is 
alive  ?  It  may  be  that  all  these  years  he  has  been  anxious 
to  have  her  with  him,  and  that  you  have  been  doing  him 
injustice  altogether." 

"  I  never  thought  of  it  in  that  light/'  the  sergeant  said 
after  a  pause.  "  He  never  came  near  his  son  when  he  lay 
dying,  never  wrote  a  line  in  answer  to  his  letters.  If  a 
man  could  not  forgive  his  own  son  when  he  lay  dying,  how 
could  he  care  for  a  grandchild  he  had  never  seen  ?  " 

"  That  may  be  so,  Sergeant  Wilks ;  but  his  son's  death 
certainly  broke  him  down  terribly,  and  it  may  be  that  he 
will  gladly  receive  his  granddaughter.  But  there  are  the 
young  ones  back  again.  I  will  think  over  what  you  have 
been  telling  me,  and  we  can  discuss  it  again  to-morrow." 


CHAPTEE  IV. 


THE    SQUIRE'S    GRANDDAUGHTER. 


The  following  day  another  council  was  held,  and  Mrs. 
"Walsham  told  the  sergeant  that  on  thinking  it  over  she  had 
concluded  that  the  best  way  would  be  to  take  the  old  butler 
at  the  Hall,  who  had  served  the  family  for  forty-five  years, 
into  their  confidence,  and  to  ask  him  to  arrange  how  best 
Aggie  might  be  introduced  to  the  squire. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  over  what  you  said,  ma'am,  and  it 
may  be  that  you  are  right,  and  that  I  have  partly  misjudged 
the  squire.  I  hope  so,  for  Aggie's  sake,  and  yet  I  cannot 
help  feeling  sorry.  I  have  always  felt  almost  sure  he  would 
have  nothing  to  say  to  her,  and  I  have  clung  to  the  hope 
that  I  should  not  lose  my  little  girl.  I  know,  of  course,  how 
much  better  it  will  be  for  her,  and  have  done  all  I  could  to 
make  her  so  that  she  should  be  fit  for  it  if  he  took  her.  But 
it  will  be  a  wrench,  ma'am ;  I  can't  help  feeling  it  will  be  a 
wrench ; "  and  the  old  soldier's  voice  quivered  as  he  spoke. 

"  It  cannot  be  otherwise,  sergeant,"  Mrs.  Walsham  said 
kindly.  "  You  have  been  everything  to  each  other,  and 
though  for  her  good  and  happiness  you  are  ready  to  give 
her  up,  it  is  a  heavy  sacrifice  for  you  to  make." 

That  afternoon  the  sergeant  went  for  a  long  walk  alone 
with  Aggie,  and  when  they  returned  Mrs.  Walsham  saw  by 
the  flushed  cheeks  and  the  swollen  eyes  of  the  child  that  she 
had  been  crying.  James  noticed  it  also,  and  saw  that  she 
seemed  depressed  and  quiet.    He  supposed  that  her  grand- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  61 

father  had  been  telling  her  that  he  was  going  to  take  her 
away,  for  hitherto  nothing  had  been  said  in  her  hearing  as 
to  the  approaching  termination  of  the  stay  with  his  mother. 
As  they  came  out  of  church  Mrs.  Walsham  had  waited  for 
a  moment  at  the  door,  and  had  told  the  butler  at  the  Hall 
that  she  wished  particularly  to  speak  to  him  that  afternoon  if 
he  could  manage  to  come  down.  They  were  not  strangers, 
for  the  doctor  had  attended  John's  wife  in  her  last  illness, 
and  he  had  sometimes  called  with  messages  from  the  Hall 
when  the  doctor  was  wanted  there. 

John  Petersham  was  astonished  indeed  when  Mrs.  Wal- 
sham informed  him  that  the  little  girl  he  had  seen  in  her 
pew  in  church  was  his  master's  granddaughter. 

"You  don't  say  so,  ma'am;  you  don't  say  as  that  pretty 
little  thing  is  Master  Herbert's  child !  But  why  didn't  you 
say  so  afore  ?  Why,  I  have  caught  myself  looking  at  her, 
and  wondering  how  it  was  that  I  seemed  to  know  her  face 
so  well;  and  now  of  course  I  sees  it,  she  is  the  picture  of 
Master  Herbert  when  he  was  little." 

"I  couldn't  say  so  before,  John,  because  I  only  knew  it 
myself  last  night.  Her  grandfather — that  is,  her  other 
grandfather,  you  know — placed  her  with  me  to  educate, 
and,  as  he  said,  to  make  a  little  lady  of,  two  years  ago;  but 
it  was  only  last  night  he  told  me." 

."Only  to  think  of  it!"  the  butler  ejaculated.     "What 
will  the  squire  say  ?  " 

"Yes,  that  is  the  point,  John:  what  will  the  squire  say  ? 
Her  grandfather  thinks  he  will  have  nothing  to  say  to 
her." 

"  Nothing  to  say  to  her,  ma'am !  why,  he  will  be  off  his 
head  with  joy.  Didn't  he  search  for  her,  and  advertise  for 
her,  and  do  all  he  could  to  find  her  for  months.  It  wasn't 
till  he  tried  for  over  a  year  that  he  gave  it  up  and  sent  for 
Richard  Horton  to  come  to  him." 

"Her  grandfather  can  only  judge  by  what  he  knows,. 


62  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

John ;  he  tells  me  that  the  son  wrote  to  his  father  over  and 
over  again  on  his  death-bed,  and  that  he  never  came  near 
him  or  took  any  notice  of  the  letters." 

"  That's  true  enough,  ma'am,"  the  butler  said  sadly ;  "and 
it  is  what  has  pretty  nigh  broken  the  squire's  heart.  He 
was  obstinate  like  at  first,  and  he  took  me  with  him  when 
he  travelled  about  across  the  sea  among  the  foreigners,  and 
when  he  was  at  a  place  they  called  Athens  he  got  a  fever 
and  he  was  down  for  weeks.  We  came  home  by  sea,  and 
the  winds  was  foul  and  we  made  a  long  voyage  of  it,  and 
when  we  got  home  there  was  letters  that  had  been  lying 
months  and  months  for  us,  and  among  them  was  those  let- 
ters of  Master  Herbert's.  The  squire  wasn't  an  hour  in  the 
house  afore  the  carriage  was  round  to  the  door,  and  we 
posted  as  hard  as  horses  could  take  us  right  across  England 
to  Broadstairs,  never  stopping  a  minute  except  to  change 
horses,  and  when  we  got  there  it  was  a  month  too  late,  and 
there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  to  the  churchyard  and 
to  see  the  stone  under  which  Master  Herbert  and  his  young 
wife  was  laid. 

"  The  house  where  they  had  died  was  shut  up.  There 
had  been  a  sale,  and  the  man  who  was  the  father  of  Master 
Herbert's  wife  was  gone,  and  we  learned  there  had  been  a 
baby  born,  and  that  had  gone  too.  The  squire  was  like  a 
madman,  blaming  himself  for  his  son's  death,  and  a-raving 
to  think  what  must  Master  Herbert  have  thought  of  him 
when  he  never  answered  his  letters.  I  had  a  terrible  time 
with  him,  and  then  he  set  to  work  to  find  the  child;  but, 
as  I  told  you,  we  never  did  find  it  or  hear  a  word  of  it  from 
that  time  to  this,  and  the  squire  has  never  held  up  his  head. 
He  will  be  pretty  well  out  of  his  mind  with  joy." 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  what  you  say,  John,"  Mrs.  Wal- 
sham  said.  "  I  could  hardly  fancy  the  squire,  who  always 
has  borne  such  a  name  for  kindness,  being  so  hard  that  he 
would  not  listen  to  his  dying  son's  entreaties." 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  63 

"  No,  ma'am.  The  squire  was  hard  for  a  bit.  Master  Her- 
bert's marriage  was  a  sad  disappointment  to  him;  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  he  was  going  to  do  so  well  and  to  cut  such 
a  figure  in  the  world;  but  he  would  have  come  round.  Lord 
bless  you,  he  only  meant  to  hold  out  for  a  bit.  When  he 
was  ill  at  Athens  he  was  talking  all  the  time  about  forgiving 
his  son,  and  I  could  see  how  hard  it  had  been  to  him  to  keep 
separated  from  him.  On  the  voyage  home  he  fidgeted  ever 
so  at  the  delay,  and  I  knew  that  the  first  thing  he  did  when 
he  got  back  would  be  to  write  to  Master  Herbert  and  tell 
him  to  bring  his  wife  down  to  the  Hall.  There's  not  a  hard 
corner  in  the  squire's  heart.  I  thank  the  good  God  for 
the  news  you  have  told  me,  ma'am;  it's  the  best  I  ever 
heard  in  all  my  life." 

Mrs.  Walsham  now  told  him  how  the  child  had  been 
brought  up,  and  then  the  sergeant  himself,  who  was  waiting 
in  the  next  room,  was  brought  in ;  and  to  him  John  Peter- 
sham related  the  story  of  the  squire's  illness,  the  reason  of 
the  letters  not  reaching  him  for  months  after  they  had  been 
written,  and  his  intense  sorrow  and  self-reproach  at  having 
arrived  too  late,  and  told  him  of  the  efforts  that  had  been 
made  to  find  the  child.  The  sergeant  listened  in  grave 
silence. 

"  I  am  glad  it  is  so,"  he  said  after  a  pause.  "  I  have  mis- 
judged the  squire,  and  I  am  glad  of  it.  It  will  be  a  blow  to 
me  to  lose  the  child;  I  do  not  pretend  that  it  won't;  but  it 
is  for  her  good,  and  I  must  be  content.  He  can  hardly 
object  to  my  seeing  her  sometimes,  and  if  I  know  that  she 
is  well  and  happy  that  is  all  I  care  for ;  and  now  the  sooner 
it's  over  the  better.     Can  she  come  up  this  evening  ?" 

"  Surely  she  can,"  John  Petersham  said.  "  The  squire 
dines  at  five;  if  you  will  bring  her  up  at  six  I  will  take  her 
in  to  him." 

And  so  it  was  arranged,  and  in  his  walk  with  Aggie  after- 
ward the  sergeant  told  her  the  history  of  her  parents,-and 


64  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:    OR, 

that  Squire  Linthorne  was  her  other  grandfather,  and  that 
she  was  to  go  up  and  see  him  that  evening. 

Aggie  had  uttered  her  protest  against  fate;  she  did  not 
wish  to  leave  her  grandpa  who  had  been  so  good  to  her,  and 
Mrs.  Walsham,  and  James.  The  description  of  the  big 
house  and  its  grandeurs,  and  the  pleasures  of  a  pony  for 
herself,  offered  no  enticement  to  her,  and  weeping  she  flung 
her  arms  round  her  grandfather's  neck  and  irnjflored  him 
not  to  give  her  up. 

"  I  must,  my  dear,  it  is  my  duty ;  I  wish  to  God  that  it 
were  not.  You  know  how  I  love  you,  Aggie,  and  how  hard 
it  is  for  me  to  part  with  you ;  but  it  is  for  your  good,  my 
darling.  You  mayn't  see  it  now,  but  when  you  get  older  you 
will  know  it.  It  will  not  be  so  hard  now  on  me,  dear,  nor  on 
you,  as  it  would  have  been  had  I  given  you  up  two  years 
ago,  but  we  have  learned  to  do  a  little  without  each  other." 

"But  you  will  come  and  see  me  just  as  you  have  here, 
won't  you  ?  "  Aggie  said,  still  weeping. 

"  I  hope  so,  my  dear.  You  see,  the  squire  is  your  father's 
father,  while  I  am  only  your  mother's  father,  and  somehow 
the  law  makes  him  nearer  to  you  than  I  am,  and  he  will 
have  the  right  to  say  what  you  must  do." 

"  I  won't  stay  with  him,  I  won't,"  Aggie  said  passion- 
ately, "  if  he  won't  let  you  come." 

"  You  must  not  say  that,  dear,"  the  sergeant  said.  "  We 
must  all  do  our  duty  even  when  that  duty  is  hard  to  do,  and 
your  duty  will  be  to  obey  the  squire's  orders  and  to  do  as 
he  tells  you.  I  have  no  doubt  he  will  be  very  kind,  and 
that  you  will  be  very  happy  with  him,  and  I  hope  he  will 
let  you  see  me  sometimes." 

It  was  a  long  time  before  the  child  was  at  all  reconciled. 
When  her  sobs  began  to  cease  her  grandfather  told  her 
what  she  was  to  do  when  she  saw  the  squire. 

"  You  will  remember,  my  dear,  that  I  have  been  more  for- 
tunate than  he  has.    I  have  had  you  all  these  years,  and  he 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  65 

has  had  no  one  to  love  or  care  for  him.  You  must  remember 
that  he  was  not  to  blame  because  he  objected  to  his  son 
marrying  my  daughter.  They  were  not  in  the  same  position 
of  life,  and  it  was  only  natural  that  he  should  not  like  it  at 
first,  and  as  I  told  you,  he  was  coming  home  to  make  them 
both  happy  when  he  found  it  was  too  late.  You  must  think, 
dear,  that  while  I  have  been  happy  all  these  years  with  you 
he  has  been  sorrowing  and  grieving,  and  you  must  try  and 
love  him  and  make  up  to  him  for  what  he  has  suffered.  I 
know  you  will  not  forget  your  old  friends;  you  will  love 
me  whether  you  see  me  often  or  not;  and  Mrs.  Walsh  am, 
who  has  been  very  kind  to  you;  and  James,  you  know,  who 
saved  your  life." 

"  I  shall  never  forget  any  one,  grampa.  I  shall  always  love 
you  better  than  any  one,"  the  child  exclaimed,  throwing 
her  arms  round  his  neck  with  a  fresh  burst  of  tears. 

"  There,  there,  my  pet/'  the  sergeant  said  soothingly; 
"you  must  not  cry  any  more.  I  want  you  to  look  your 
best  this  evening,  you  know,  and  to  do  credit  to  us  all. 
And  now  I  think  we  have  settled  everything,  so  we  will  be 
going  back  to  tea." 

That  evening  the  squire  was  sitting  by  himself  in  the 
great  dining-room,  occasionally  sipping  the  glass  of  port 
which  John  Petersham  had  poured  out  before  he  left  the 
room;  the  curtains  were  drawn  and  the  candles  lighted,  for 
it  was  late  in  September  and  the  evenings  were  closing  in 
fast,  and  the  squire  was  puzzling  over  John  Petersham's 
behavior  at  dinner. 

Although  the  squire  was  not  apt  to  observe  closely  what 
was  passing  around  him,  he  had  been  struck  with  the  old 
butler's  demeanor;  that  something  was  wrong  with  him  was 
clear.  Usually  he  was  the  most  quiet  and  methodical  of 
servants,  but  he  had  blundered  several  times  in  the  service, 
he  had  handed  his  master  dishes  when  his  plate  was  already 
supplied,  he  had  spilled  the  wine  in  pouring  it  out,  he  had 
5 


66  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

started  nervously  when  spoken  to.  Mr.  Linthorne  even 
thought  that  he  had  seen  tears  in  his  eyes ;  altogether  he  was 
strangely  unlike  himself.  Mr.  Linthorne  had  asked  him  if 
anything  was  the  matter,  but  John  had  with  almost  unnec- 
essary earnestness  declared  there  was  nothing.  Altogether 
the  squire  was  puzzled;  with  any  other  servant  he  would 
have  thought  he  had  been  drinking,  but  such  a  supposition 
in  John's  case  was  altogether  out  of  the  question. 

He  could  have  had  no  bad  news  so  far  as  the  squire  knew, 
for  the  only  children  he  had  had  died  young,  and  he  had  no 
near  relatives  or  connections.  It  was  ridiculous  to  suppose 
that  John,  at  his  age,  had  fallen  in  love.  Altogether  the 
squire  failed  to  suggest  to  himself  any  explanation  of  his 
old  butler's  conduct,  and  had  just  concluded  philosophically 
by  the  reflection  that  he  supposed  he  should  know  what  it 
was  sooner  or  later,  when  the  door  of  the  room  quietly 
opened. 

The  squire  did  not  look  up.  It  closed  again  as  quietly  and 
then  he  glanced  toward  it.  He  could  hardly  believe  his 
eyes.  A  child  was  standing  there — a  girl  with  soft  smooth 
hair  and  large  eyes  and  a  sensitive  mouth,  with  an  expression 
fearless  but  appealing.  Her  hands  were  clasped  before  her, 
and  she  was  standing  in  doubt  whether  to  advance.  There 
was  something  so  strange  in  this  apparition  in  the  lonely 
room  that  the  squire  did  not  speak  for  a  moment.  It  flashed 
across  him  vaguely  that  there  was  something  familiar  to  him 
in  the  face  and  expression,  something  which  sent  a  thrill 
through  him;  and  at  the  same  instant,  without  knowing 
why,  he  felt  that  there  was  a  connection  between  the  appear- 
ance of  the  child  and  the  matter  he  had  just  been  thinking 
of — John  Petersham's  strange  conduct.  He  was  still  look- 
ing at  her  when  she  advanced  quietly  toward  him. 

"  Grandpapa,"  she  said,  "  I  am  Aggie  Linthorne." 

A  low  cry  of  astonishment  broke  from  the  squire.  He 
pushed  his  chair  back. 


THE   WINNING   OF   A   CONTINENT.  67 

f  Can  it  be  true/'  lie  muttered,  "  or  am  I  dreaming  ?  " 

"  Yes,  grandpapa,"  the  child  said,  close  beside  him  now, 
"  I  am  Aggie  Linthorne,  and  I  have  come  to  see  you.  If  you 
don't  think  it's  me,  grampa  said  I  was  to  give  you -this  and 
then  you  would  know;"  and  she  held  out  a  miniature  on 
ivory  of  a  boy  some  fourteen  years  old,  and  a  watch  and 
chain. 

"  I  do  not  need  them,"  the  squire  said  in  low  tones,  "  I  see 
it  in  your  face.  You  are  Herbert's  child,  whom  I  looked  for 
so  long.  Oh !  my  child !  my  child !  have  you  come  at  last  ?  " 
and  he  drew  her  toward  him  and  kissed  her  passionately, 
while  the  tears  streamed  down  his  cheeks. 

"  I  couldn't  come  before,  you  know,"  the  child  said,  "  be- 
cause I  didn't  know  about  you,  and  grampa,  that's  my  other 
grandpapa,"  she  nodded  confidentially,  "  did  not  know  you 
wanted  me;  but  now  he  knows  he  sent  me  to  you.  He  told 
me  I  was  to  come  because  you  were  lonely;  but  you  can't 
be  more  lonely  than  he  is,"  she  said,  with  a  quiver  in  her 
voice.     "  Oh !  he  will  be  lonely  now! " 

"  But  where  do  you  come  from,  my  dear,  and  how  did  you 
get  here,  and  what  have  you  been  doing  all  these  years  ?  " 

"  Grampa  brought  me  here,"  the  child  said.  I  call  him 
grampa,  you  know,  because  I  did  when  I  was  little,  and  I 
have  always  kept  to  it;  but  I  know,  of  course,  it  ought  to  be 
grandpapa.  He  brought  me  here,  and  John — at  least  he 
called  him  John — brought  me  in.  And  I  have  been  living 
for  two  years  with  Mrs.  Walsham  down  in  the  town,  and  I 
used  to  see  you  in  church,  but  I  did  not  know  that  you 
were  my  grandpapa." 

The  squire,  who  was  holding  her  close  to  him  while  she 
spoke,  got  up  and  rang  the  bell,  and  John  opened  the  door 
with  a  quickness  that  showed  that  he  had  been  waiting 
close  to  it,  anxiously  waiting  a  summons. 

"John  Petersham,"  the  squire  said,  "give  me  your  hand; 
this  is  the  happiest  day  of  my  Hie." 


\ 


68  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

The  two  men  wrung  each  other's  hands.  They  had  been 
friends  ever  since  John  Petersham,  who  was  twelve  years 
the  senior  of  the  two,  first  came  to  the  house,  a  young  fel- 
low of  eighteen,  to  assist  his  father,  who  had  held  the  same 
post  before  him. 

"  God  be  thanked,  squire !  "  he  said  huskily. 

"  God  be  thanked,  indeed,  John ! "  the  squire  rejoined 
reverently.  "  So  this  was  the  reason,  old  friend,  why  your 
hand  shook  as  you  poured  out  my  wine.  How  could  you 
keep  the  secret  from  me  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  know  how  to  begin  to  tell  you,  but  I  was 
pretty  nigh  letting  it  out,  and  only  the  thought  that  it  was 
better  the  little  lady  should  tell  you  herself,  as  we  had 
agreed,  kept  it  in.  Only  to  think,  squire,  after  all  these 
years!  But  I  never  quite  gave  her  up.  I  always  thought 
somehow  as  she  would  come  just  like  this." 

"  Did  you,  John  ?  I  gave  up  hope  years  ago.  How  did 
it  come  about,  John  ?  "         , 

"  Mrs.  Walsham  told  me  as  I  came  out  of  church  to-day  as 
she  wanted  to  speak  to  me,  so  I  went  down,  and  she  told  me 
all  about  it,  and  then  I  saw  him — "  John  hesitated  at  the 
name,  for  he  knew  that  perhaps  the  only  man  in  the  world 
against  whom  his  master  cherished  a  bitter  resentment  was 
the  father  of  his  son's  wife.  "  It  seems  he  never  saw  your 
advertisements,  never  knew  as  you  wanted  to  hear  anything 
of  the  child,  so  he  took  her  away  and  kept  her.  He  has  been 
here  off  and  on  all  these  years.  I  heard  tell  of  him  often 
and  often  when  I  had  been  down  into  Sidmouth,  but  never 
dreamt  as  it  was  him.  He  went  about  the  country  with  a 
box  on  wheels  with  glasses — a  peep-show  as  they  calls  it." 

The  squire  winced. 

"  He  is  well  spoken  of,  squire,"  John  said,  "  and  I  am 
bound  to  say  as  he  doesn't  seem  the  sort  of  man  we  took 
him  for  at  all,  not  by  no  means.  He  did  not  know  you 
wanted  to  have  her,  but  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  give  her 


THE  WINNING  OP  A  CONTINENT.  G9 

the  chance,  and  so  he  put  her  with  Mrs.  Walsham,  and  never 
told  her  till  yesterday  who  she  wa.s.  Mrs.  Walsham  was 
quite  grieved  at  parting  with  her,  for  she  says  she  is  won- 
derfully quick  at  her  lessons,  and  has  been  like  a  daughter 
with  her  for  the  last  two  years." 

The  child  had  sat  quietly  down  in  a  chair  and  was  look- 
ing into  the  fire  while  the  two  men  were  speaking.  She 
had  done  what  she  was  told  to  do,  and  was  waiting  quietly 
for  what  was  to  come  next.  Her  quick  ear,  however,  caught 
in  the  tones  of  John  Petersham  an  apologetic  tone  when 
speaking  of  her  grandfather,  and  she  was  moved  to  instant 
anger. 

"  Why  do  you  speak  like  that  of  my  grampa  ?  "  she  said, 
rising  to  her  feet  and  standing  indignantly  before  him. 
"  He  is  the  best  man  in  the  world,  and  the  kindest  and  the 
nicest,  and  if  you  don't  like  him  I  can  go  away  to  him 
again.  I  don't  want  to  stay  here,  not  one  minute.  You 
may  be  my  grandpapa,"  she  went  on,  turning  to  the  squire, 
"  and  you  may  be  lonely,  but  he  is  lonely  too,  and  you  have 
got  a  great  house  and  all  sorts  of  nice  things,  and  you  can 
do  better  without  me  than  he  can,  for  he  has  got  nothing  to 
love  but  me,  poor  grampa! "  and  her  eyes  filled  with  sudden 
tears  as  she  thought  of  him  tramping  on  his  lonely  walks 
over  the  hills. 

"  We  do  not  mean  to  speak  unkindly  of  your  grandfather, 
my  dear,"  the  squire  said  gently.  "  I  have  never  seen  him, 
you  know,  and  John  has  never  seen  him  but  once.  I  have 
thought  all  these  years  bitterly  of  him,  but  perhaps  I  have 
been  mistaken.  He  has  ever  been  kind  and  good  to  you, 
and,  above  all,  he  has  given  you  back  to  me,  and  that  will 
make  me  think  differently  of  him  in  future.  We  all  make 
mistakes,  you  know,  and  I  have  made  terrible  mistakes,  and 
have  been  terribly  punished  for  them.  I  dare  say  I  have 
made  a  mistake  here ;  but  whether  or  no,  you  shall  never 
hear  a  word  from  me  against  the  man  who  has  been  so 
kind  to  you." 


70  WITH  WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

"And  you  will  let  me  see  him  sometimes,  grandpapa  ?  * 
the  child  said,  taking  his  hand  pleadingly.  "  He  said  if  you 
said  no  I  must  do  as  you  told  me,  because  somehow  you  are 
nearer  to  me  than  he  is,  though  I  don't  know  how  that  can 
be;  but  you  won't  say  that,  will  you  ?  for,  oh!  I  know  he  is 
so  lonely  without  me,  and  I  should  never  be  happy  think- 
ing of  him  all  alone,  not  if  you  were  to  be  ever  so  kind  to 
me  and  to  give  me  all  sorts  of  grand  things." 

"  'No,  my  dear,  I  certainly  shall  not  say  so.  You  shall 
see  him  as  often  as  you  like." 

"Oh,  thank  you,  grandpapa!"  she  exclaimed 'joyfully, 
and  she  held  up  her  face  to  kiss  him. 

The  squire  lifted  her  in  his  arms  and  held  her  closely  to 
him. 

"John,"  he  said,  "  you  must  tell  Mrs.  Morcombe  to  get  a 
room  ready  for  my  granddaughter  at  once,  and  you  had 
better  bring  the  tea  in  here,  and  then  we  will  think  of 
other  things.     I  feel  quite  bewildered  at  present/' 

When  John  returned  with  the  tea  Aggie  was  sitting  on 
the  squire's  knee.  She  was  perfectly  at  home  now,  and 
had  been  chattering  to  him  of  her  life  with  her  grandfather, 
and  had  just  related  the  incident  of  her  narrow  escaj)e  from 
drowning. 

"  Do  you  hear  that,  John  ?  "  the  squire  said.  "  She  was 
nearly  drowned  here,  within  sight  of  our  home,  and  I  might 
never  have  known  anything  about  it.  It  seems  that  lad  of 
Dr.  Walsham's  saved  her  life.  He  is  a  fine  lad.  He  was 
her  champion,  you  know,  in  that  affair  with  my  nephew. 
How  strange  that  the  two  boys  should  have  quarrelled  over 
my  granddaughter ! " 

"  Yes,  squire,  and  young  Walsham  came  well  out  of  it !  " 
John  said  heartily;  for  to  him  only  did  the  squire  mention 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  he  chuckled  now  to  him- 
self as  he  thought  that  Richard  Horton  had  made  an  even 
greater   mistake  in  that  matter  than  he  thought  of,  for 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  71 

John  detested  the  boy  with  all  his  heart,  and  had  only  ab- 
stained from  reporting  his  conduct  to  the  squire  from  fear 
of  giving  his  master  pain. 

The  squire's  brow  clouded  a  little  at  the  allusion. 

"  It  will  make  a  difference  to  him,  John/'  he  said,  "  for 
of  course  now  my  granddaughter  will  take  his  place." 

"And  a  good  thing  too!"  John  said  heartily.  "I  have 
never  said  a  word  before,  squire,  because,  as  you  had  chosen 
him  as  your  heir,  there  was  no  use  in  setting  you  against 
him,  but  a  more  hatefuller  lad  than  Eichard  Horton  I  never 
corned  across,  and  so  said  every  one  here.  You  did  not  see 
much  of  him,  squire,  and  natural  thought  well  of  him,  for 
he  was  a  good-looking  boy,  and  could  speak  fair  enough 
when  he  liked.  I  thought  well  of  him  myself  when  he 
first  came,  but  I  larned  better  afterward." 

"  There  are  many  excuses  to  be  made  for  him,  John,"  the 
squire  said,  "  and  I  have  had  good  reports  of  him  since.  Of 
course  I  shall  see  that,  although  he  can  no  longer  be  re- 
garded as  my  heir  here,  he  shall  be  well  provided  for.  But 
there  will  be  plenty  of  time  to  think  of  this." 

"  Mr.  Wilks  asked  me  to  say,  sir,"  the  butler  said  as  he 
prepared  to  leave  them,  "  that  he  shall  be  staying  in  Sid- 
mouth  to-morrow,  and  that  if  you  wish  to  see  him  he  will 
come  up  here." 

"  Certainly  I  wish  to  see  him,"  the  squire  replied.  "  I 
have  many  things  to  ask  him.  Let  the  boy  go  down  the 
first  thing  in  the  morning,  or — no,  if  you  don't  mind,  John, 
would  you  go  down  yourself  to-night  ?  He  will  naturally 
be  anxious  to  know  how  his  grandchild  is  getting  on.  Tell 
him  with  what  joy  I  have  received  her,  and  take  any  mes- 
sage she  may  give  you.  Is  there  anything  you  would  like 
to  say  to  your  grandfather,  child  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes;  please  tell  him  that  I  think  I  shall  like  it,  and 
that  he  is  to  come  and  see  me  when  he  likes,  and  that  of 
course  he  is  to  see  me  when  he  comes  in  the  morning,  and 
then  I  can  tell  him  all  about  it." 


72  WITH    WOLFE   IN   CANADA:    OR, 

"And  say  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  him  the  first  thing  after 
breakfast/'  the  squire  added. 

The  housekeeper  soon  entered,  and  Aggie,  very  sleepy 
after  the  excitements  of  the  day,  was  taken  off  to  bed.  Her 
sleepiness,  however,  disappeared  in  her  wonder  at  the  size 
of  the  house  and  at  the  vastness  of  her  bedroom. 

"  Wlty,  you  have  got  a  fire ! "  she  exclaimed  in  astonish- 
ment.    "  I  never  saw  a  fire  in  a  bedroom  before." 

"  I  didn't  light  it  for  the  cold,  miss,"  the  housekeeper  said; 
"but  because  it  is  a  long  time  since  the  room  was  slept  in 
before,  and  because  I  thought  it  would  be  cheerful  for  you. 
I  shall  sleep  in  the  next  room  till  things  are  settled,  so  that 
if  you  want  anything  you  will  only  have  to  run  in." 

"  Thank  you,"  Aggie  said  gratefully.  "  It  does  all  seem 
so  big;  but  I  am  sure  not  to  want  anything;  thank  you." 

"  Here  is  your  box,  miss.  Would  you  like  me  to  help 
undress  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no !  "  Aggie  laughed.  "  Why,  of  course  I  can  un- 
dress myself ;  "  and  she  laughed  at  the  idea  of  assistance 
being  required  in  such  a  matter. 

"Then,  good-night!"  the  housekeeper  said.  "I  shall 
leave  the  door  ajar  between  the  two  rooms  when  I  come  to 
bed." 

The  next  morning,  soon  after  breakfast,  Sergeant  Wilks 
was  ushered  into  the  study,  where  the  squire  was  expecting 
him.  The  two  men  had  had.  hard  thoughts  of  each  other 
for  many  years.  The  squire  regarded  the  sergeant  as  a  man 
who  had  inveigled  his  son  into  marrying  his  daughter,  while 
the  sergeant  regarded  the  squire  as  a  heartless  and  unnatu- 
ral father  who  had  left  his  son  to  die  alone  among  strangers. 
The  conversation  with  John  Petersham  had  taught  the  ser- 
geant that  he  had  wronged  the  squire  by  his  estimate  of 
him,  and  that  he  was  to  be  pitied  rather  than  blamed  in  the 
matter.  The  squire,  on  his  part,  was  grateful  to  the  ser- 
geant for  the  care  he  had  bestowed  upon  the  child  and  for 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  73 

restoring  her  to  him,  and  was  inclined,  indeed,  at  the  mo- 
ment to  a  universal  good-will  to  all  men.  The  sergeant  was 
pale,  but  self-possessed  and  quiet;  while  the  squire,  moved 
by  the  events  of  the  night  before  out  of  the  silent  reserve 
in  which  he  had  for  years  enveloped  himself,  was  agitated 
and  nervous.     He  was  the  first  to  speak. 

"  Mr.  Wilks,"  he  said,  "  I  have  to  give  you  my  heartfelt 
thanks  for  having  restored  my  granddaughter  to  me — the 
more  so  as  I  know,  from  what  she  has  said,  how  great  a  sac- 
rifice you  must  be  making.  _  John  has  been  telling  me  of 
his  conversation  with  you,  and  you  have  learned  from  him 
that  I  was  not  so  wholly  heartless  and  unnatural  a  father 
as  you  must  have  thought  me,  deeply  as  I  blame  myself, 
and  shall  always  blame  myself,  in  the  matter." 

"  Yes/'  the  sergeant  said ;  "  I  have  learned  that  I  have 
misread  you.  Had  it  not  been  so  I  should  have  brought  the 
child  to  you  long  ago — should  never  have  taken  her  away, 
indeed.     Perhaps  we  have  both  misjudged  each  other." 

"  I  fear  that  we  have,"  the  squire  said,  remembering  the 
letters  he  wrote  to  his  son  in  his  anger,  denouncing  the 
sergeant  in  violent  language. 

"It  does  not  matter  now,"  the  sergeant  went  on  quietly; 
"but  as  I  do  not  wish  Aggie  ever  to  come  to  think  ill  of  me 
in  the  future  it  is  better  to  set  it  right.  When  I  left  the 
army  I  had  saved  enough  money  to  furnish  a  house,  and  I 
took  one  at  Southampton  and  set  up  taking  lodgers  there. 
I  had  my  pension,  and  lived  well  until  my  wife  died — a  year 
before  your  son  came  down  from  London  with  another  gen- 
tleman and  took  my  rooms.  My  daughter  was  seventeen 
when  her  mother  died,  and  she  took  to  managing  the  house. 
I  was  careful  of  her,  and  gave  her  orders  that  on  no  account 
was  she  ever  to  go  into  the  lodgers'  rooms.  I  waited  on  them 
myself.  How  your  son  first  saw  her  and  got  to  speak  to 
her,  I  don't  know;  but  I  am  not  surprised  that  when  he 
did  he  loved  her,  for  there  was  no  prettier  or  sweeter  girl 


74  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

in  Hampshire.  They  took  the  rooms  first  only  for  a  fort- 
night, then  the  other  gentleman  went  away  and  your  son 
staid  on. 

"  One  day — it  came  upon  me  like  a  thunderbolt — your 
son  told  me  he  wanted  to  marry  my  Agnes.  I  was  angry 
at  first.  Angry  because  it  had  been  done  behind  my  back, 
and  because  I  had  been  deceived.  I  said  as  much ;  but  your 
son  assured  me  that  he  had  never  spoken  to  her  in  the 
house,  but  had  met  her  when  she  went  out  for  her  walks. 
Still,  it  was  wrong,  and  I  told  him  so,  and  I  told  her  so, 
though  in  my  heart  I  did  not  altogether  blame  them,  for 
young  people  will  be  young  people,  and  as  he  had  acted 
honorably  in  coming  to  me  at  once,  I  let  that  pass.  But, 
squire,  though  but  a  sergeant  in  His  Majesty's  service,  I  had 
my  pride  as  you  had  yours,  and  I  told  him  at  once  that  I 
would  not  give  my  consent  to  my  daughter's  marrying  bim 
until  you  had  given  yours,  and  that  he  must  leave  the  house 
at  once  and  not  see  Agnes  again  until  he  came  with  your 
written  consent  to  show  me. 

"  He  went  away  at  once.  After  a  time  he  began  to  write 
to  me,  urging  me  to  change  my  decision,  and  from  this,  al- 
though he  never  said  so,  I  was  sure  that  you  had  refused  to 
sanction  his  marriage.  However,  I  stuck  to  what  I  had  said, 
though  it  was  hard  for  me  to  do  so  with  my  child  growing 
thin  and  pale  before  my  eyes,  with  all  her  bright  happiness 
gone.  So  it  went  on  for  three  months,  and  then  one  morn- 
ing she  was  gone,  and  I  found  a  letter  on  her  table  for  me, 
saying  that  she  had  been  married  to  him  a  week  before,  when 
she  went  out,  as  I  thought,  to  spend  the  day  with  a  friend. 
She  begged  and  prayed  me  to  forgive  her,  and  said  how 
miserable  she  had  been,  and  that  she  could  not  say  no  to 
her  lover's  pleadings. 

"  I  wrote  to  the  address  she  had  given  me,  saying  that  she 
had  well-nigh  broken  my  heart.  She  knew  that  I  had  only 
refused  my  consent  because  it  would  have  seemed  a  dishon- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  75 

orable  action  to  allow  your  son  to  marry  her  without  your 
consent,  she  knew  how  hard  it  had  been  for  me  to  do  my 
duty  when  I  saw  her  pining  before  my  eyes,  but  I  forgave 
her  wholly,  and  did  not  altogether  blame  her,  seeing  that  it 
was  the  way  of  Nature  that  young  women,  when  they  once 
took  to  loving,  should  put  their  father  altogether  in  the 
second  place,  but  that  until  you  had  given  way  I  could  not 
see  her  or  sanction  her  marriage.  It  was  hard  to  me  to 
write  that  letter,  for  I  longed  to  see  her  bonny  face  again. 
But  I  thought  it  was  my  duty.  I  thought  so  then;  but  I 
think  now  it  was  pride. 

"  From  time  to  time  she  wrote  to  me.  I  learned  that  you 
still  refused  to  see  your  son,  and  I  gathered,  though  she  did 
not  say  much  of  this,  that  things  were  going  badly  with 
them.  At  last  she  wrote  that  her  husband  was  ill,  very  ill,  she 
feared;  he  had  in  vain  tried  to  get  employment.  I  don't 
think  he  was  naturally  strong,  and  the  anxiety  had  broken 
him  down.  Then  I  went  up  to  London  at  once  and  found 
them  in  a  little  room  without  the  necessaries  of  life.  I 
brought  them  down  home  and  nursed  him  for  three  months 
till  he  died. 

"A  week  later  Aggie  was  born.  Ten  days  afterward  I  laid 
her  mother  by  the  side  of  her  father.  No  answer  had  come 
to  the  letters  he  had  written  to  you  while  he  had  been  ill, 
though  in  the  later  ones  he  had  told  you  that  he  was  dying. 
So  I  looked  upon  the  child  as  mine.  Things  had  gone  badly 
with  me.  I  had  been  able  to  take  no  lodgers  while  they 
were  with  me.  I  had  got  into  debt,  and  even  could  I  have 
cleared  myself  I  could  not  well  have  kept  the  house  on 
without  a  woman  to  look  after  it.  I  was  restless,  too,  and 
longed  to  be  moving  about,  so  I  sold  off  the  furniture,  paid 
my  debts,  and  laid  by  the  money  that  remained  for  the 
child's  use  in  the  future. 

"  I  had  some  time  before  met  an  old  comrade  travelling 
the  country  with  a  show.     I  happened  to  meet  him  again 


76  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA. 

just  as  I  was  leaving,  and  he  told  me  the  name  of  a  man  in 
London  who  'sold  such  things.  I  left  the  child  for  a  year 
with  some  people  I  knew  a  few  miles  out  of  Southampton, 
came  up  to  London,  bought  a  show,  and  started.  It  was 
lonely  work  at  first;  but  after  a  year  I  fetched  the  child 
away  and  took  her  round  the  country  with  me,  and  for 
four  years  had  a  happy  time  of  it. 

"  I  had  chosen  this  part  of  the  country,  and  after  a  time  I 
became  uneasy  in  my  mind  as  to  whether  I  was  doing  right, 
and  whether  for  the  child's  sake  I  ought  not  to  tell  you  that 
she  was  alive,  and  offer  to  give  her  up  if  you  were  willing  to 
take  her.  I  heard  how  your  son's  death  had  changed  you, 
and  thought  that  maybe  you  would  like  to  take  his  daugh- 
ter; but  before  bringing  her  to  you,  I  thought  she  should 
have  a  better  education  than  I  had  time  to  give  her,  and 
that  she  should  be  placed  with  a  lady,  so  that  if  you  took 
her  you  need  not  be  ashamed  of  her  manners. 

"  I  hoped  you  would  not  take  her.  I  wanted  to  keep  her 
for  myself;  but  my  duty  to  her  was  clear;  and  now,  squire, 
you  know  all  about  it.  I  have  been  wrong  to. keep  her  so 
long  from  you,  I  grant;  but  I  can  only  say  that  I  have  done 
my  duty  as  far  as  I  could,  and  that,  though  I  have  made 
many  mistakes,  my  conscience  is  clear  that  I  did  the  best 
as  far  as  it  seemed  to  me  at  the  time." 


OHAPTEE  V. 


A   QUIET   TIME. 


As  the  sergeant  was  telling  the  story  the  squire  had  sat 
with  his  face  shaded  by  his  hand,  but  more  than  one  tear 
had  dropped  heavily  on  the  table. 

"  I  wish  I  could  say  as  much/'  he  said  sadly  when  the  other 
ended.  "  I  wish  that  I  could  say  that  my  conscience  is  clear, 
Mr.  Wilks.  I  have,  misjudged  you  cruelly,  and  that  without 
a  tithe  of  the  reason  which  you  had  for  thinking  me  utterly 
heartless  and  cruel.  You  will  have  heard  that  I  never  got 
those  letters  my  son  wrote  me  after  he  was  ill,  and  that  when 
I  returned  home  and  received  them  I  posted  to  Southamp- 
ton only  to  find  that  I  was  too  late,  and  that  for  a  year  I 
did  all  in  my  power  to  find  the  child.  Still  all  this  is  no 
excuse.  I  refused  to  forgive  him,  returned  his  letters  un- 
answered, and  left  him,  as  it  seemed,  to  his  fate. 

"  It  is  no  excuse  to  say  that  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to 
forgive  him  when  he  was,  as  I  thought,  sufficiently  punished. 
He  did  not  know  that.  As  to  the  poverty  in  which  you 
found  him,  I  can  only  plead  that  I  did  not  dream  that  he 
would  come  to  that.  He  had,  I  knew,  some  money,  for  I 
had  just  sent  him  his  half-year's  allowance  before  he  wrote 
to  me  about  this  business.  Then  there  was  the  furniture  of 
his  rooms  in  London,  his  horses,  jewels,  and  other  matters. 
I  had  thought  he  could  go  on  very  well  for  a  year.  Of 
course  I  was  mistaken.  Herbert  was  always  careless  about 
money,  and  no  doubt  he  spent  it  freely  after  he  was  first 


78  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

married.  He  would  naturally  wish  to  have  everything  pretty 
and  nice  for  his  young  wife,  and  no  doubt  he  counted  upon 
my  forgiving  him  long  before  the  money  was  spent. 

"  I  am  not  excusing  myself.  God  knows  how  bitterly  I 
have  condemned  myself  all  these  years.  I  only  want  to  show 
you  that  I  had  no  idea  of  condemning  him  to  starvation;  he 
was  my  only  son,  and  I  loved  him.  I  felt  perhaps  his  rebel- 
lion all  the  more,  because  he  had  never  before  given  me  a 
day's  trouble.  I  was  harsh,  obstinate,  and  cruel.  I  have  only 
the  one  old  excuse.  I  never  thought  it  would  turn  out  as  it 
did.  Whae  would  I  give  if  I  could  say,  as  you  can,  that  you 
have  a  clear  conscience,  and  that  you  acted  always  as  it 
seemed  to  be  your  duty !  And  now,  Mr.  Wilks,  now  that  I 
have  heard  your  story  I  trust  that  you  will  forgive  my  past 
suspicions  of  you,  and  let  me  say  how  much  I  honor  and 
esteem  you  for  your  conduct.  No  words  can  tell  you  how 
I  thank  you  for  your  goodness  and  kindness  to  my  little 
granddaughter — our  little  granddaughter  I  should  say. 
You  have  the  better  right  a  thousandfold  to  her  than  I 
have;  and  had  I  been  in  your  place  I  could  never  have 
made  such  a  sacrifice. 

"  We  must  be  friends,  sir,  great  friends.  Our  past  has  been 
saddened  by  the  same  blow.  All  our  hopes  in  the  future 
are  centred  on  the  same  object." 

The  two  men  rose  to  their  feet  together,  and  their  hands 
met  in  a  firm  clasp  and  tears  stood  in  both  their  eyes.  Then 
the  squire  put  his  hand  on  the  other's  shoulder  and  said : 
"  We  will  talk  again  presently.  Let  us  go  into  the  next 
room.  The  little  one  is  longing  to  see  you,  and  we  must 
not  keep  her." 

For  the  next  hour  the  two  men  devoted  themselves  to  the 
child.  Now  that  she  had  her  old  friend  with  her  she  felt 
no  further  misgivings,  and  was  able  to  enter  into  the  full 
delight  of  her  new  home. 

The  house  and  its  wonders  were  explored,  and  much  as  she 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  79 

was  delighted  with  these,  the  gardens  and  park  were  an  even 
greater  excitement  and  pleasure.  Dancing,  chattering,  ask- 
ing questions  of  one  or  the  other,  she  was  half  wild  with 
pleasure,  and  the  squire  was  no  less  delighted.  A  new  light 
and  joy  had  come  into  his  life,  and  with  it  the  ten  years 
which  sorrow  and  regret  had  laid  upon  him  had  fallen  off; 
for  although  his  habits  of  seclusion  and  quiet  had  caused 
him  to  be  regarded  as  quite  an  old  man  by  his  neighbors, 
he  was  still  three  years  short  of  sixty,  while  the  sergeant 
was  two  years  younger. 

It  was  a  happy  morning  for  them  all  three;  and  when 
John  Petersham  went  in  after  lunch  to  the  kitchen  he  as- 
sured his  fellow-servants  that  it  was  as  much  as  he  could  do 
to  keep  from"' crying  with  joy  at  the  sight  of  the  squire's 
happy  face,  and  to  hear  him  laugh  and  joke  as  he  had  not 
done  for  eight  years  now.  The  sergeant  had  stopped  to 
that  meal,  for  he  saw  by  the  manner  in  which  the  squire 
asked  him  that  he  should  give  pain  if  he  refused,  and  there 
was  a  simple  dignity  about  the  old  soldier  which  would 
have  prevented  his  appearing  out  of  place  at  the  table  of 
the  highest  in  the  land. 

"  Now,  pussy,"  the  squire  said  when  they  had  finished, 
"  you  must  amuse  yourself  for  a  bit.  You  can  go  in  the 
garden  again,  or  sit  with  Mrs.  Morcombe  in  her  room;  she 
will  look  you  out  some  picture-books  from  the  library.  I 
am  afraid  there  is  nothing  very  suited  to  your  reading,  but 
we  will  soon  put  all  that  right.  Your  grandfather  and  I 
want  to  have  another  quiet  chat  together. 

"  Now  I  want  your  advice/'  he  said  when  they  were  both 
comfortably  seated  in  the  study.  "  You  see,  you  have  been 
thinking  and  planning  about  the  child  for  years,  while  it 
has  all  come  new  upon  me,  so  I  must  rely  upon  you  entirely. 
Of  course  the  child  must  have  a  governess,  that  is  the  first 
thing,  not  so  much  for  the  sake  of  teaching  her,  though,  of 
course,  she  must  be  taught,  but  as  a  companion  for  her." 


80  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

"Yes,"  the  sergeant  assented,  "she  must  have  a  gover- 
ness." 

"  It  will  be  a  troublesome  matter  to  find  one  to  suit/'  the 
squire  said  thoughtfully.  "I  don't  want  a  harsh  sort  of 
Gorgon  to  repress  her  spirits  and  bother  her  life  out  with 
rules  and  regulations;  and  I  won't  have  a  giddy  young 
thing,  because  I  should  like  to  have  the  child  with  me  at 
breakfast  and  lunch,  and  I  don't  want  a  fly-away  young 
woman  who  will  expect  all  sorts  of  attention.  Now,  what  is 
your  idea  ?  I  have  no  doubt  you  have  pictured  in  your  mind 
the  exact  sort  of  woman  you  would  like  to  have  over  her." 

"  I  have,"  the  sergeant  answered  quietly.  "  I  don't  know 
whether  it  would  suit  you,  squire,  or  whether  it  could  be 
managed ;  but  it  does  seem  to  me  that  you  have  got  the 
very  woman  close  at  hand.  Aggie  has  been  for  two  years 
with  Mrs.  Walsham,  who  is  a  lady  in  every  way ;  she  is  very 
fond  of  the  child,  and  the  child  is  very  fond  of  her.  Every 
one  says  she  is  an  excellent  teacher;  she  would  be  the  very 
woman  to  take  charge  of  her." 

"  The  very  thing ! "  the  squire  exclaimed  with  great  satis- 
faction. "  But  she  has  a  school,"  he  went  on,  his  face  fall- 
ing a  little,  "  and  there  is  a  son." 

"  I  have  thought  of  that,"  the  sergeant  said.  "  The  school 
enables  them  to  live,  but  it  cannot  do  much  more,  so  that  I 
should  think  she  would  feel  no  reluctance  at  giving  that  up." 

"  Money  would  be  no  object,"  the  squire  said.  "  I  am  a 
wealthy  man,  Mr.  Wilks,  and  have  been  laying  by  the  best 
part  of  my  income  for  the  last  eight  years.  I  would  pay 
any  salary  she  chose,  for  the  comfort  of  such  an  arrangement 
would  be  immense,  to  say  nothing  of  the  advantage  and 
pleasure  it  would  be  to  the  child.  But  how  about  the 
boy?" 

"  We  both  owe  a  good  deal  to  the  bey,  squire,"  the  ser- 
geant said  gravely,  "  for  if  it  had  not  been  for  him  the  child 
would  have  been  lost  to  us." 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  81 

"  So  she  was  telling  me  last  night/'  the  squire  said.  "And 
he  'really  saved  her  life  ?  " 

"  He  did/'  the  sergeant  replied.  "  But  for  his  pluck  and 
promptitude  she  must  hare  been  drowned.  A  moment's 
hesitation  on  his  part  and  nothing  could  have  saved  her." 

"I  made  up  my  mind  last  night,"  the  squire  said,  "to  do 
something  for  him.  I  have  seen  him  before,  and  was  much 
struck  with  him." 

"  Then  in  that  case,  squire,  I  think  the  thing  could  be 
managed.  If  the  lad  were  sent  to  a  good  school  his  mother 
might  undertake  the  management  of  Aggie;  she  could 
either  go  home  of  an  evening  or  sleep  here  and  shut  up  her 
house,  as  you  might  arrange  with  her,  living,  of  course,  at 
home  when  the  boy  was  home  for  his  holidays  and  only 
coming  up  for  a  portion  of  the  day." 

"  That  would  be  a  capital  plan,"  the  squire  agreed  warmly; 
"  the  very  thing.  I  should  get  off  all  the  bother  with  strange 
women,  and  the  child  would  have  a  lady  she  is  already  fond 
of,  and  who,  I  have  no  doubt,  is  thoroughly  qualified  for 
the  work.  Nothing  could  be  better.  I  will  walk  down 
this  afternoon  and  see  her  myself,  and  I  have  no  doubt  I 
shall  be  able  to  arrange  it.  And  now  about  yourself — what 
are  your  plans  ?" 

"  I  shall  start  to-morrow  morning  on  my  tramp  as  usual," 
the  sergeant  answered  quietly;  "but  I  shall  take  care  in  fu- 
ture that  I  do  not  come  with  my  box  within  thirty  miles 
or  so  of  Sidmouth.  I  do  not  want  Aggie's  future  to  be  in 
any  way  associated  with  a  showman's  box.  I  shall  come 
here  sometimes  to  see  her,  as  you  have  kindly  said  I  may, 
but  I  will  not  abuse  the  privilege  by  coming  too  often; 
perhaps  you  won't  think  a  day  once  every  three  months  to 
be  too  much  ?  " 

"  I  should  think  it  altogether  wrong  and  monstrous ! " 

the  squire  exclaimed  hotly.    "  You  have  been  virtually  the 

child's  father  for  the  last  seves?  ^ears.    You  have  cared  for 
6 


82  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA*.   OR, 

her,  and  loved  her,  and  worked  for  her.  She  is  everything 
to  you,  and  I  feel  how  vast  are  your  claims  to  her  compared 
to  mine;  and  now  you  talk  about  going  away  and  coming 
to  see  her  once  every  three  months;  the  idea  is  unnatural, 
it  is  downright  monstrous !  No,  you  and  I  understand  each 
other  at  last;  would  to  Heaven  we  had  done  so  eight  years 
back !  I  feel  how  much  more  nobly  you  acted  in  that  un- 
happy matter  than  I  did,  and  I  esteem  and  honor  you.  We 
are  both  getting  on  in  life,  we  have  one  common  love  and 
interest,  we  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  the  child,  and  I 
say  emphatically  that  you  have  a  right,  and  more  than  a 
right,  to  a  half  share  in  her.  You  must  go  away  no  more, 
but  remain  here  as  my  friend  and  as  joint  guardian  of  the 
child. 

"  I  will  have  no  refusal,  man,"  he  went  on  as  the  sergeant 
shook  his  head.  "  Your  presence  here  will  be  almost  as 
great  a  comfort  to  me  as  to  the  child.  I  am  a  lonely  man. 
For  years  I  have  cut  myself  loose  from  the  world;  I  have 
neither  associates  nor  friends.  But  now  that  this  great  load 
is  off  my  mind  my  first  want  is  a  friend;  and  who  could  be 
so  great  a  friend,  who  could  enter  into  my  plans  and  hopes 
for  the  future  so  well  as  yourself,  who  would  have  an  in- 
terest in  them  equal  to  my  own  ?  " 

The  sergeant  was  much  moved  by  the  squire's  earnestness. 
He  saw  that  the  latter  had  really  at  heart  the  proposal  he 
made. 

"  You  are  very  good,  squire,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice;  "  but 
even  if  I  could  bring  myself  to  eat  another  man's  bread  as 
long  as  I  can  work  for  my  own,  it  would  not  do.  I  am 
neither  by  birth  nor  education  fitted  for  such  a  position  as 
that  you  offer  to  me." 

"  Pooh !  nonsense !  "  the  squire  said  hotly ;  "  you  have  seen 
the  world,  you  have  travelled  and  mixed  with  men,  you  are 
fit  to  associate  as  an  equal  with  any  one.  Don't  you  deceive 
yourself;  3Tou  certainly  do  not  deceive  me.    It  is  pride  that 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  83 

stands  in  your  way.  For  that  you  are  going  to  risk  the 
happiness  of  your  granddaughter,  to  say  nothing  of  mine; 
for  you  don't  suppose  that  either  of  us  is  going  to  feel  com- 
fortable and  happy  when  the  snow  is  whirling  round  and 
the  wind  sweeping  the  moors,  to  think  of  you  trudging 
along  about  the  country  while  we  are  sitting  snugly  here 
by  a  warm  fire. 

"  You  are  wanting  to  spoil  everything  now  that  it  has  all 
come  right  at  last,  by  just  the  same  obstinate  pride  which 
wrecked  the  lives  of  our  children.  I  won't  have  it,  man,  I 
won't  hear  of  it.  Come,  say  no  more;  I  want  a  friend 
badly,  and  I  am  sure  we  shall  suit  each  other.  I  want  a 
companion.  Why,  man,  if  I  were  a  rich  old  lady  and  you 
were  a  poor  old  lady,  and  I  asked  you  to  come  as  my  com- 
panion, you  would  see  nothing  derogatory  in  the  offer.  You 
shall  come  as  my  companion,  now,  or  if  you  like  as  joint 
guardian  to  the  child.  You  shall  have  your  own  rooms  in 
the  house;  and  when  you  feel  inclined  to  be  grumpy  and 
don't  care  to  take  your  meals  with  the  child  and  me  you  can 
take  them  apart. 

"At  any  rate  try  it  for  a  month,  and  if  you  are  not  com- 
fortable then  I  will  let  you  go,  though  your  rooms  shall  al- 
ways be  in  readiness  for  you  whenever  you  are  disposed  to 
come  back.     Come,  give  me  your  hand  on  the  bargain." 

Sergeant  Wilks  could  resist  no  longer.  The  last  two  years' 
work  without  the  child  had  indeed  been  heavy,  and  espe- 
cially in  winter  when  the  wind  blew  strong  across  the  up- 
lands he  began  to  feel  that  he  was  no  longer  as  strong  as  he 
used  to  be.  The  prospect  of  having  Aggie  always  near  him 
was,  however,  a  far  greater  temptation  than  that  of  ending 
his  days  in  quiet  and  comfort. 

His  hand  and  that  of  the  squire  met  in  a  cordial  grip, 
and  the  matter  was  settled.  Fortunately,  as  the  sergeant 
reflected,  he  had  still  his  pension  of  ten  shillings  a  week, 
which  would  suffice  t©  supply  clothes  and  other  little  neces- 


84  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

saries  which  he  might  require,  and  would  thus  save  him 
from  being  altogether  dependent  on  the  squire. 

Aggie  was  wild  with  delight  when  she  was  called  in  and 
informed  of  the  arrangement.  The  thought  of  her  grand- 
father tramping  the  country  alone  had  been  the  one  draw- 
back to  the  pleasure  of  her  life  at  Mrs.  Walsham's,  arid 
many  a  time  she  had  cried  herself  to  sleep  as  she  pictured  to 
herself  his  loneliness.  That  he  was  to  be  with  her  always, 
was  to  give  up  his  work  to  settle  down  in  comfort,  was  in- 
deed a  delight  to  her.  Greatly  pleased  was  she  also  to  hear 
that  Mrs.  Walsham  was  to  be  asked  to  come  up  to  be  her 
governess. 

"  Oh,  it  will  be  nice!  "  she  exclaimed,  clapping  her  hands. 
"Just  like  the  fairy  stories  you  used  to  tell  me,  grampa, 
when  every  one  was  made  happy  at  the  end  by  the  good 
fairy.  Grandpapa  is  the  good  fairy,  and  you  and  I  are  the 
prince  and  princess;  and  James — and  what  is  to  be  done 
with  James — is  he  to  come  up  too  ?  " 

"  No,  my  dear,"  the  squire  said  smiling.  "James  is  to  go 
to  a  good  school,  but  you  will  see  him  when  he  comes  home 
for  his  holidays;  but  that  part  of  it  is  not  arranged  yet, 
you  know ;  but  if  you  will  put  on  your  hat  you  can  walk  down 
with  us  to  the  town  and  introduce  me  to  Mrs.  Walsham/' 

Mrs.  Walsham  had  just  dismissed  her  pupils  when 
the  party  arrived,  and  was  thinking  how  quiet  and  dull  the 
house  was  without  Aggie,  when  the  door  opened  and  the 
child  rushed  in  and  threw  her  arms  round  her  neck. 

"  Oh,  I  have  such  good  news  to  tell  you !  Grandpapa  is 
so  good  and  kind,  and  grampa  is  going  to  live  with  us,  and 
you  are  to  come  up  too,  and  James  is  to  go  to  school.  Isn't 
it  all  splendid  ?  " 

"What  are  you  talking  about,  Aggie?"  Mrs.  Walsham 
asked  bewildered,  as  the  child  poured  out  her  news. 

"Aggie  is  too  fast,  madam,"  the  squire  said,  entering  the 
Eoom  accompanied  by  the  sergeant.     "  She  is  taking  it  all 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  85 

for  granted  while  it  has  yet  to  be  arranged.  I  must  apolo- 
gize for  coming  in  without  knocking;  but  the  child  opened 
the  door  and  rushed  in,  and  the  best  thing  to  do  was,  we 
thought,  to  follow  her.  I  have  come,  in  the  first  place,  to 
thank  you  for  your  great  kindness  to  my  little  grand- 
daughter, and  to  tell  your  son  how  deeply  I  feel  indebted 
to  him  for  having  saved  her  life  two  years  ago.  Now, 
Aggie,  you  run  away  and  look  for  your  friend  while  I  talk 
matters  over  with  Mrs.  Walsham." 

Aggie  scampered  away  to  find  James,  who  was  at  work 
at  his  books,  and  to  tell  him  the  news,  while  the  squire 
unfolded  his  plans  to  Mrs.  Walsham. 

His  offers  were  so  handsome  that  Mrs.  Walsham  accepted 
them  without  an  instant's  hesitation.  She  was  to  have  the 
entire  charge  of  the  child  during  the  day,  with  the  option 
of  either  returning  home  in  the  evening  when  Aggie  went 
in  to  dessert  after  dinner  or  of  living  entirely  at  the  Hall. 
The  squire  explained  his  intention  of  sending  James  to  a 
good  school  at  Exeter  as  an  instalment  of  the  debt  he  owed 
him  for  saving  the  child's  life,  and  he  pointed  out  that 
when  he  was  at  home  for  his  holidays  Aggie  could  have  her 
holidays  too,  and  Mrs.  Walsham  need  only  come  up  to  the 
Hall  when  she  felt  inclined. 

Mrs.  Walsham  was  delighted  with  the  offer,  even  more  for 
James'  sake  than  her  own,  although  the  prospect  for  herself 
was  most  pleasant.  To  have  only  Aggie  to  teach  and  walk 
with  would  be  delightful  after  the  monotony  of  drilling 
successive  batches  of  girls,  often  inordinately  tiresome  and 
stupid.  She  said  at  once  that  she  should  prefer  returning 
home  at  night — a  decision  which  pleased  the  squire,  for  he 
had  wondered  what  he  should  do  with  her  in  the  evening. 

The  arrangement  was  at  once  carried  into  effect.  The 
NSchool  was  broken  up,  and  as  the  parents  of  the  children 
were  almost  all  tenants  of  the  squire  they  offered  no  objec- 
tion to  the  girls  being  suddenly  left  on  their  hands  when 


86  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

they  heard  that  their  teacher  was  going  to  live  as  governess 
at  the  Hall.  Indeed,  the  surprise  of  Sidmouth  and  the 
neighborhood  at  learning  that  the  little  girl  at  Mrs.  Wal- 
sham's  was  the  squire's  granddaughter,  and  that  the  show- 
man was  therefore  a  connection  of  the  squire  and  was  going 
also  to  live  at  the  Hall,  was  so  great  that  there  Avas  no  room 
for  any  other  emotion.  Save  for  wrecks,  or  the  arrival  of 
shoals  of  fish  off  the  coast,  or  of  troubles  between  the  smug- 
glers and  the  revenue  officers,  Sidmouth  had  few  excite- 
ments, and  the  present  news  afforded  food  for  endless  talk 
and  conjecture. 

On  comparing  notes  it  appeared  that  there  was  not  a 
woman  in  the  j)lace  who  had  not  been  all  along  convinced 
that  the  little  girl  at  Mrs.  Walsham's  was  something  more 
than  she  seemed  to  be,  and  that  the  showman  was  a  man 
quite  out  of  the  ordinary  way.  And  when  on  the  following 
Sunday  the  sergeant,  who  had  in  the  mean  time  been  to 
Exeter,  walked  quietly  into  church  with  the  squire,  all 
agreed  that  the  well-dressed  military-looking  man  was  a 
gentleman,  and  that  he  had  only  been  masquerading  under 
the  name  of  Sergeant  Wilks  until  somehow  or  other  the 
quarrel  between  him  and  the  squire  was  arranged,  and  the 
little  heiress  restored  to  her  position;  and  Sidmouth  re- 
mained in  that  belief  to  the  end. 

The  sergeant's  military  title  was  henceforth  dropped. 
Mr.  Linthorne  introduced  him  to  his  acquaintances — who 
soon  began  to  flock  in  when  it  was  known  that  the  squire's 
granddaughter  had  come  home,  and  that  he  was  willing  to 
see  his  friends  and  join  in  society  again — as  "  My  friend 
Mr.  Wilks,  the  father  of  my  poor  boy's  wife."  And  the 
impression  made  was  generally  favorable. 

None  had  ever  known  the  exact  story  of  Herbert's  mar- 
riage. It  was  generally  supposed  that  he  had  married  be- 
neath him;  but  the  opinion  now  was  that  this  must  have 
been  a  mistake,  for  there  was  nothing  in  any  way  vulgar 


THE  WINNING  OP  A  CONTINENT.  87 

about  the  quiet  military-looking  gentleman  with  whom  the 
squire  was  evidently  on  terms  of  warm  friendship. 

The  only  person  somewhat  dissatisfied  with  the  arrange- 
ment was  James  Walsham.  He  loved  his  mother  so  much 
that  he  had  never  offered  the  slightest  dissent  to  her  plan 
that  he  should  follow  in  his  father's  footsteps.  She  was  so 
much  set  on  the  matter  that  he  could  never  bring  himself 
to  utter  a  word  in  opposition.  At  heart,  however,  he  longed 
for  a  more  stirring  and  more  adventurous  life,  such  as  that 
of  a  soldier  or  sailor,  and  he  had  all  along  cherished  a  secret 
hope  that  something  might  occur  to  prevent  his  preparing 
for  the  medical  profession,  and  so  enable  him  to  carry  out 
his  secret  wishes.  But  the  present  arrangement  seemed  to 
put  an  end  to  all  such  hopes,  and  although  grateful  to  the 
squire  for  sending  him  to  a  good  school,  he  wished  with  all 
his  heart  that  he  had  chosen  some  other  way  of  manifest- 
ing his  gratitude. 

Four  years- passed  quietly.  James  Walsham  worked  hard 
when  at  school,  and  during  his  holidays  spent  his  time  for 
the  most  part  on  board  the  fishermen's  boats.  Sometimes 
he  went  up  to  the  Hall,  generally  at  the  invitation  of  Mr. 
Wilks. 

"Why  don't  you  come  oftener,  Jim?"  the  latter  asked 
him  one  day.  "Aggie  was  saying  only  yesterday  that  you 
used  to  be  such  friends  with  her,  and  now  you  hardly  ever 
come  near  her.  The  squire  is  as  pleased  as  I  am  to  see 
you." 

"  I  don't  know,"  Jim  replied.  "  You  see,  I  am  always  com- 
fortable with  you;  I  can  chat  with  you,  and  tell  you  about 
school  and  about  fishing,  and  so  on.  The  squire  is  very 
kind,  but  I  know  it  is  only  because  of  that  picking  Aggie 
out  of  the  water,  and  I  never  seem  to  know  what  to  talk 
about  with  him;  and  then,  you  see,  Aggie  is  growing  a 
young  lady,  and  can't  go  rambling  about  at  my  heels  as  she 
used  to  do  when  she  was  a  little  girl.     I  like  her,  you  know, 


88  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

Mr.  Wilks,  just  as  I  used  to  do;  but  I  can't  carry  her  on 
my  shoulder  now  and  make  a  playfellow  of  her." 

"  I  suppose  that's  all  natural  enough,  Jim,"  Aggie's 
grandfather  said;  "but  I  do  think  it  is  a  pity  you  don't 
come  up  more  often.  You  know  we  are  all  fond  of  you, 
and  it  will  give  us  a  pleasure  to  have  you  here." 

Jim  was,  in  fact,  getting  to  the  awkward  age  with  boys. 
"When  younger  they  tyrannize  over  their  little  sisters,  when 
older  they  may  again  take  pleasure  in  girls'  society;  but 
there  is  an  age  in  every  boy's  life  when  he  is  inclined  to 
think  girls  a  nuisance,  as  creatures  incapable  of  joining  in 
games,  and  as  being  apt  to  get  in  the  way.  Still,  Jim 
was  very  fond  of  his  former  playmate,  and  had  she  been 
still  living  down  in  Sidmouth  with  his  mother  they  would 
have  been  as  great  friends  as  ever. 

At  the  end  of  the  fourth  year  Richard  IIorLn,,  r  ne  back 
after  an  absence  of  five  years.  He  was  now  ne  J ;  twenty, 
and  had  just  passed  as  lieutenant.  He  was  bronzed  with 
the  Eastern  sun,  and  had  grown  from  a  good-looking  boy 
into  a  handsome  young  man,  and  was  perfectly  conscious 
of  his  good  looks.  Among  his  comrades  lie  had  gained  the 
nickname  of  "  The  Dandy  " — a  name  which  he  accepted  in 
good  part,  although  it  had  not  been  intended  as  compli- 
mentary, for  Richard  Horton  was  by  no  means  a  popular 
member  of  his  mess.  Boys  are  quick  to  detect  each  qther's 
failings,  and  several  sharp  thrashings  when  he  first  joined 
had  taught  Richard  that  it  was  very  inexpedient  to  tell  a 
lie  on  board  a  ship  if  there  was  any  chance  of  its  being 
detected. 

As  he  had  become  one  of  the  senior  midshipmen  his  natu- 
ral haughtiness  made  him  disliked  by  the  younger  lads, 
while  among  those  of  his  own  standing  he  had  not  one  sin- 
cere friend,  for  there  was  a  general  feeling  among  them, 
that  although  Richard  Horton  was  a  pleasant  companion 
and  a  very  agreeable  fellow  when  he  liked,  he  was  not 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  89 

somehow  straight,  not  the  sort  of  fellow  to  be  depended 
upon  in  all  emergencies. 

By  the  captain  and  lieutenants,  he  was  considered  a  smart 
young  officer.  He  was  always  careful  to  do  his  duty,  quiet 
and  gentlemanly  in  manner,  and  in  point  of  appearance  and 
dress  a  credit  to  the  ship.  Accordingly  all  the  reports  that 
his  captain  had  sent  home  of  him  had  been  favorable. 
Great  as  was  the  rage  and  disappointment  which  Eichard 
had  felt  when  he  received  the  letter  from  his  uncle  telling 
him  of  the  discovery  of  his  long-lost  granddaughter,  he  had 
the  tact  to  prevent  any  signs  of  his  feelings  being  visible  in 
the  letter  in  which  he  replied.  The  squire  had  told  him 
that  although  the  discovery  would,  of  course,  make  a  con- 
siderable difference  in  his  prospects,  he  should  still,  if  the 
reports  of  his  conduct  continued  satisfactory,  feel  H  his 
duty  to  make  a  handsome  provision  for  him. 

"  Thanks  to  my  quiet  life  during  the  last  ten  years,"  the 
squire  had  written,  "  I  have  plenty  for  both  of  you.  The 
estate  will,  of  course,  go  to  her;  but,  always  supposing  that 
your  conduct  will  be  satisfactory,  I  shall  continue  during 
my  life-time  the  allowance  you  at  present  receive,  and  you 
will  find  yourself  set  down  in  my  will  for  the  sum  of 
twenty  thousand  pounds." 

Eichard  had  replied  in  terms  which  delighted  the  squire. 

"  You  see  the  boy  has  a  good  heart,"  he  said,  as  he  handed 
the  letter  to  Mr.  Wilks.  "  No  one  could  express  himself 
better." 

His  companion  read  the  letter  over  in  silence. 

"  Charmingly  expressed,"  he  said  as  he  returned  it. 
"  Almost  too  charmingly,  it  seems  to  me." 

"  Come,  come,  Wilks,  you  are  prejudiced  against  the  young 
fellow  for  that  business  with  Aggie  and  young  Walsham." 

"  I  hope  I  am  not  prejudiced,  squire,"  his  friend  replied; 
"  but  when  I  know  that  a  lad  is  a  liar,  and  that  he  will  bring 
false  accusations  to  shield  himself,  and  when  I  know  that 


90  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

he  was  detested  by  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him — John  t 
Petersham,  the  gardener,  and  the  grooms — I  require  a  good 
deal  more  than  a  few  satisfactory  reports  from  his  captain, 
who  can  know  very  little  of  his  private  character,  and  a  soft- 
soldering  letter  like  that,  to  reinstate  him  in  my  good  opin- 
ion. I  will  wager  that  if  you  and  I  had  been  standing  behind 
him  when  he  opened  your  letter  you  would  have  heard  an 
expression  of  very  different  sentiments  from  those  he  writes 
you  here.  Look  at  this:  ' I  regret,  indeed,  my  clear  uncle, 
that  my  new  cousin  must  have  such  a  bad  opinion  of  me, 
owing  to  my  roughness  in  that  unfortunate  affair,  which  I 
have  never  ceased  to  regret;  but  I  hope  that  when  we  meet 
I  shall  be  able  to  overcome  the  dislike  which  she  must  feel 
for  me.'  Bah!"  the  old  soldier  said  scornfully,  "I  would 
lay  all  my  pension  to  a  shilling  that  that  boy  has  already 
made  up  his  mind  that  some  day  he  will  marry  Aggie, 
and  so  contrive  to  get  the  estates  after  all." 

The  squire  burst  into  a  good-humored  laugh. 

"It's  well  I  don't  take  up  your  wager.  Such  ideas  as 
that  might  occur  to  you  and  me,  but  hardly  to  a  lad  not 
yet  seventeen." 

"  Well,  we  shall  see,"  the  other  said,  cooling  down.  "  I 
hope  I  may  be  mistaken  in  him;  we  shall  see  when  he 
comes  home." 

When  he  did  come  home,  the  old  soldier  could  find  but 
little  fault  with  the  young  man.  He  had  a  frank  and  open 
manner  such  as  is  common  to  men  of  his  profession.  He 
was  full  of  life  and  anecdote;  his  manner  to  the  squire  was 
admirable,  affectionate,  and  quietly  respectful,  without  any 
air  of  endeavoring  especially  to  ingratiate  himself  with  him; 
nor  could  the  ex-sergeant  find  anything  to  complain  of  in 
the  young  man's  manner  toward  himself.  He  took  the  first 
opportunity  when  they  were  alone  to  say  how  glad  he  had 
been  to  hear  that  his  grandfather  had  met  with  a  friend  and 
companion  in  his  lonely  life,  and  to  express  a  hope  that  the 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  91 

bad  opinion  which  he  had  doubtless  formed  of  him  from 
his  conduct  when  a  boy  would  not  be  allowed  to  operate 
against  him  now. 

But  though  there  was  nothing  he  could  find  fault  with, 
the  old  soldier's  prejudices  were  in  no  way  shaken,  and  in- 
deed his  antipathy  was  increased  rather  than  diminished  by 
the  young  officer's  conduct  toward  Aggie.  It  might  be,  of 
course,  that  he  was  only  striving  to  overcome  the  prejudiced 
feeling  against  him;  but  every  time  the  old  soldier  saw  him 
with  his  granddaughter  he  felt  angry. 

In  point  of  fact  Aggie  was  disposed  to  like  Richard  even 
before  his  arrival.  Six  years  had  eradicated  every  tinge  of 
animosity  for  that  shove  on  the  sand.  His  letters  had  been 
long,  bright,  and  amusing,  and  with  the  mementos  of  travel 
which  he  picked  up  in  the  ports  of  India  and  China,  and 
from  time  to  time  sent  home  to  his  uncle,  there  was  always 
a  little  box  with  some  pretty  trinket  "  for  my  cousin."  She 
found  him  now  a  delightful  companion ;  he  treated  her  as 
if  she  had  been  seventeen  instead  of  eleven,  was  ready  to 
ride  or  walk  with  her,  or  to  tell  her  stories  of  the  countries 
he  had  seen,  as  she  might  choose,  and  to  humor  all  her 
whims  and  fancies. 

"  Confound  him  and  his  pleasant  manners ! "  the  ex-ser- 
geant would  mutter  to  himself  as  he  watched  them  together, 
and  saw,  as  he  believed,  in  the  distance,  the  overthrow  of 
the  scheme  he  had  at  heart.  "  He  is  turning  the  child's 
head;  and  that  foolish  boy  James  is  throwing  away  his 
chances." 

James  indeed  came  home  from  school  for  the  last  time 
two  or  three  weeks  after  Richard  Horton's  return.  He  was 
now  nearly  eighteen,  and  although  a  broad  and  powerful 
fellow  was  still  a  boy  at  heart.  He  did  not  show  to  advan- 
tage by  the  side  of  Richard  Horton.  The  first  time  he  went 
up  to  the  Hall  after  his  return  the  latter  had  met  him  with 
outstretched  hand. 


92  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"  I  am  glad  to  meet  you  again/'  he  said.  "  I  behaved  like 
a  blackguard  last  time  we  met,  and  you  gave  me  the  thrash- 
ing which  I  deserved.  I  hope  we  shall  get  on  better  in  the 
future." 

Aggie  and  her  two  grandfathers  were  present,  and  James 
Walsham  certainly  did  not  show  to  advantage  by  the  side  of 
the  easy  and  self-possessed  young  officer.  He  muttered 
something  about  its  being  all  right,  and  then  found  nothing 
else  to  say,  being  uncomfortable  and  ill  at  ease.  He  made 
some  excuse  about  being  wanted  at  home,  and  took  his 
leave ;  nor  did  he  again  go  up  to  call.  Several  times  the  old 
soldier  went  down  to  Sidmouth  to  see  him,  and  on  one  occa- 
sion remonstrated  with  him  for  not  coming  up  to  the  Hall. 

u  What's  the  use  ?  "  James  said  roughly.  "  I  have  got  lots 
of  reading  to  do,  for  in  two  months,  you  know,  I  am  to  go 
up  to  London  to  walk  the  hospitals.  No  one  wants  me  up 
there.  Aggie  has  got  that  cousin  of  hers  to  amuse  her,  and 
I  should  feel  only  in  the  way  if  I  went." 

Mr.  Wilks  was  fairly  out  of  temper  at  the  way  things  were 
going.  He  was  angry  with  James;  angry  with  the  squire, 
who  evidently  viewed  with  satisfaction  the  good  understand- 
ing between  his  granddaughter  and  nephew;  angry  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life  with  Aggie  herself. 

"  You  are  growing  a  downright  little  flirt,  Miss  Aggie," 
he  said  one  day  when  the  girl  came  in  from  the  garden, 
where  she  had  been  laughing  and  chatting  with  her  cousin. 
He  had  intended  to  speak  playfully,  but  there  was  an 
earnestness  in  his  tone  which  the  girl  at  once  detected. 

"Are  you  really  in  earnest,  gram  pa  ?  "  she  asked,  for  she 
still  retained  the  childish  name  for  her  grandfather — so 
distinguishing  him  from  the  squire,  whom  she  always  called 
grandpapa. 

"  No;  I  don't  know  that  I  am  in  earnest,  Aggie,"  he  said, 
trying  to  speak  lightly;  "and  yet  perhaps  to  some  extent 
I  am." 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  93 

"lam  sure  you  are/'  the  girl  said.  "0  grampa!  you 
are  not  really  cross  with  me,  are  you  ? "  and  the  tears  at 
once  sprang  into  her  eyes.  "  I  have  not  been  doing  any- 
thing wrong,  have  I  ?  " 

"  No,  my  dear,  not  in  the  least  wrong,"  her  grandfather 
said  hastily;  "still,  you  know  I  don't  like  seeing  Jim,  who 
has  always  been  so  good  and  kind  to  you,  quite  neglected, 
now  this  young  fellow,  who  is  not  fit  to  hold  a  candle  to 
him,  has  turned  up." 

"Well,  I  haven't  neglected  him,  grampa;  he  has  ne- 
glected me.  He  has  never  been  near  since  that  first  day, 
and  you  know  I  can't  very  well  go  round  to  Sidmouth  and 
say  to  him,  '  Please  come  up  to  the  Hall.' " 

"  No,  my  dear,  I  know  you  can't,  and  he  is  behaving  like 
a  young  fool." 

"  Why  is  he  ?  "  Aggie  asked,  surprised.  "  If  he  likes  sail- 
ing about  better  than  coming  up  here,  why  shouldn't  he  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  it's  for  that  he  stays  away,  Aggie.  In  fact, 
you  see  Jim  has  only  just  left  school,  and  he  feels  he  can't 
laugh,  and  talk,  and  tell  you  stories  about  foreign  countries 
as  this  young  fellow  can,  and  having  been  so  long  accus- 
tomed to  have  you  to  himself,  he  naturally  would  not  like 
the  playing  second  fiddle  to  Richard  Horton." 

"  But  he  hasn't  been  here  much,"  the  girl  said,  "  ever 
since  I  came  here.  He  used  to  be  so  nice  and  so  kind  in 
the  old  days  when  I  lived  down  there  that  I  can't  make 
out  why  he  has  changed  so." 

"My  dear,  I  don't  think  he  has  changed;  he  has  been 
only  a  boy,  and  the  fact  is,  he  is  only  a  boy  still.  He  is 
fond  of  sailing  and  of  the  amusements  boys  take  to,  and 
he  doesn't  feel  at  home  and  comfortable  here  as  he  did  with 
you  when  you  were  a  little  girl  at  his  mother's.  But  mind, 
Aggie,  James  is  true  as  steel;  he  is  an  honorable  and  up- 
right young  fellow.  He  is  worth  fifty  of  this  self-satisfied, 
pleasant-spoken  young  sailor." 


94  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"  I  know  James  is  good  and  kind,  grampa,"  the  girl  said 
earnestly;  "but  you  see  he  is  not  very  amusing,  and 
Richard  is  very  nice." 

"  Nice !  yes,"  the  old  soldier  said ;  "  a  fair-weather  sort  of 
niceness,  Aggie.  Richard  Horton  is  the  squire's  nephew, 
and  I  don't  wish  to  say  anything  against  him;  but  mark 
my  words,  and  remember  them,  there's  more  goodness  in 
James'  little  finger  than  there  is  in  his  whole  body.  But 
there,  I  am  a  fool  to  be  talking  about  it.  There  is  your 
cousin  calling  you  in  the  garden.     Go  along  with  you." 

The  girl  went  off  slowly,  wondering  at  her  grandfather's 
earnestness.  She  knew  she  liked  her  old  playmate  far 
better  than  Richard  Horton,  although  the  latter's  atten- 
tions pleased  and  flattered  lier.  The  old  soldier  went 
straight  off  to  the  squire's  study. 

"  Squire,"  he  said,  "  you  remember  that  talk  we  had  three 
years  ago  when  your  nephew's  answer  came  to  your  letter, 
telling  him  that  Aggie  was  found  ?  I  told  you  that  I  would 
wager  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  marry  her.  You  laughed 
at  me;  but  I  was  right.  Child  though  she  still  is,  he  is 
already  paving  the  way  for  the  future." 

"  Master  Richard  certainly  is  carrying  on  a  sort  of  flirta- 
tion with  the  little  witch,"  the  squire  said,  smiling;  "  but  as 
she  is  such  a  mere  child  as  you  say,  what  does  it  matter  ?  " 

"  I  think  it  matters  a  great  deal,"  the  old  soldier  said  seri- 
ously. "  I  see,  squire,  the  young  fellow  has  quite  regained 
your  good  opinion;  and  unless  I  am  mistaken  you  have 
already  thought  to  yourself  that  it  would  not  be  a  bad 
thing  if  they  were  to  come  together  some  day.  I  have 
thought  it  over,  and  have  made  up  my  mind  that,  in  spite 
of  your  four  years'  continued  kindness  to  me  and  of  the 
warm  friendship  between  us,  I  must  go  away  for  a  time. 
My  box  is  still  lying  at  Exeter,  and  I  would  rather  tramp 
the  country  again  and  live  on  it  and  my  pension  than  stay 
here  and  see  my  darling  growing  up  a  woman  with  that 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  95 

future  before  her.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  squire,  that  what  you 
call  my  prejudice  is  as  strong  as  ever.  I  doubt  that  young 
fellow  as  strongly  as  I  did  before  he  came  home.  Then  I 
only  had  his  past  conduct  and  his  letter  to  go  by;  now  I 
have  the  evidence  of  my  own  senses.  You  may  ask  me 
what  I  have  against  him.  I  tell  you — nothing;  but  I  mis- 
doubt him  from  my  heart.  I  feel  that  he  is  false,  that  what 
he  was  when  a  boy  he  is  now.  There  is  no  true  ring  about 
him." 

The  squire  was  silent  for  a  minute  or  two.  He  had  a  very 
sincere  friendship  and  liking  for  his  companion,  a  thorough 
confidence  in  his  judgment  and  principles.  He  knew  his 
self-sacrificing  nature,  and  that  he  was  only  speaking  from 
his  love  for  his  grandchild. 

"  Do  not  let  us  talk  about  it  now,  old  friend,"  he  said 
quietly.  "  You  and  I  put  before  all  other  things  Aggie's 
happiness.  Disagreement  between  us  there  can  be  none 
on  the  subject.  Give  me  to-night  to  think  over  what  you 
have  said,  and  we  will  talk  about  it  again  to-morrow/' 


CHAPTEE  VI. 

A    STOKM. 

After  breakfast  next  morning  the  squire  asked  his  friend 
to  go  with  him  into  his  study. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  this  matter  over/'  he  said,  u  very 
seriously,  and  upon  reflection  I  agree  with  you  that  it  is 
undesirable  that  Aggie  should  see  much  of  Richard  until 
she  is  of  an  age  to  form  a  fair  opinion  for  herself,  and  to 
compare  him  with  other  young  men.  I  agree  with  you  also 
that  we  have  not  yet  sufficient  proofs  that  he  is  completely 
changed.  I  hope  that  he  is.  You  think  he  is  not.  At  any 
rate  he  must  have  a  longer  trial,  and  until  it  is  proved  to 
your  satisfaction,  as  well  as  mine,  that  he  is  in  every  way  a 
desirable  husband  for  Aggie,  the  less  they  see  of  each  other 
the  better.  I  therefore  propose  to  write  at  once  to  my 
friend  Admiral  Hewson  to  ask  him  to  use  his  influence  at 
the  admiralty  to  get  the  young  fellow  appointed  to  a  ship. 
Does  that  meet  your  approval,  my  friend  ?  " 

"Quite  so,"  the  other  said  cordially;  "nothing  could  be 
better.  In  the  mean  time,  as  you  say,  should  Eichard  turn 
out  well,  and  the  young  people  take  a  liking  for  each  other, 
no  match  could  be  more  satisfactory.  What  I  want  is  that 
she  should  take  no  girlish  fancy  for  him  at  present." 

"  So  be  it  then,"  the  squire  said.  "  I  think,  you  know, 
that  we  are  a  couple  of  old  fools  to  be  troubling  ourselves 
about  Aggie's  future  at  present.  Still  in  a  matter  which 
concerns  us  both  so  nearly  we  cannot  be  too  careful.     If 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  9? 

we  had  a  woman  with  us  wo  could  safely  leave  the  matter 
in  her  hands ;  as  it  is  we  must  blunder  on  as  best  we  may/' 

And  so  it  was  settled,  and  a  week  later  Eichard  Horton 
received  an  official  letter  from  the  admiralty  ordering  him 
to  proceed  at  once  to  Portsmouth  to  join  the  Thetis,  to 
which  he  was  appointed  as  fourth  lieutenant.  The  order 
gave  Eichard  extreme  satisfaction.  He  was  beginning  to 
find  his  life  desperately  dull,  and  he  was  heartily  sick  of 
playing  the  attentive  nephew.  He  was  well  content  with 
the  progress  he  had  made;  nothing  had  gone  wrong  since 
he  returned,  his  uncle  had  clearly  taken  him  back  into  his 
favor,  and  he  had  no  doubt  that  Aggie  quite  appreciated  the 
pains  he  had  bestowed  to  gain  her  liking. 

He  detested  the  squire's  companion,  for  he  felt  that  the 
latter  disliked  and  distrusted  him,  and  that  his  projects 
would  meet  with  a  warm  opposition  on  his  part.  Still, 
with  the  squire  and  Aggie  herself  on  his  side  he  did  not 
fear  the  result.  As  to  James  Walsham,  whom  he  had  come 
home  prepared  to  regard  as  a  possible  rival  from  his  early 
intimacy  with  the  child,  and  the  fact  that  his  mother  was 
her  governess,  he  now  regarded  him  with  contempt  mingled 
with  a  revengeful  determination  to  pay  off  the  old  score 
should  a  chance  ever  present  itself. 

He  therefore  started  next  day  in  high  spirits,  assuming, 
however,  a  great  reluctance  to  tear  himself  away.  A  few 
days  later  a  letter  came  from  him,  saying  that  he  hoped  that 
he  should  be  able  to  come  back  sometimes  for  a  day  or  two, 
as  the  Thetis  was  at  present  to  be  attached  to  the  Channel 
squadron,  and  it  was  not  expected  that  she  would  for  some 
time  proceed  on  foreign  service. 

Early  in  October  James  Walsham  was  to  go  up  to  London 
to  commence  his  medical  course.  A  week  before  he  was  to 
start  Mr.  Wilks  went  down  in  the  morning,  intending  to 
insist  on  his  returning  with  him  to  the  Hall.  As  he  went 
down  toward  Sidmouth  the  old  soldier  noticed  how  strongly 
7 


98  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

the  wind  was  blowing,  the  trees  were  swaying  and  thrashing 
in  the  wind,  the  clouds  were  flying  fast  overhead.  Every- 
thing portended  a  severe  gale.  Finding  at  Mrs.  Walsham's 
that  James  was  down  on  the  beach,  he-continued  his  course 
until  he  joined  him  there.  James  was  standing  with  a  gron  p 
of  fishermen  who  were  looking  seaward.  Now  that  he  was 
exposed  to  the  full  force  of  the  wind,  Mr.  Wilks  felt  that 
not  only  was  it  going  to  blow  a  gale,  but  that  it  was  blow- 
ing one  already.  The  heavy  clouds  on  the  horizon  seemed 
to  lie  upon  the  water,  the  waves  were  breaking  with  great 
force  upon  the  beach,  and  the  fishermen  had  hauled  their 
boats  up  across  the  road. 

"It's  blowing  hard,  Jim,"  he  said,  laying  his  hand  on 
the  young  fellow's  shoulder. 

"  It  is  blowing  hard,  and  it  will  blow  a  great  deal  harder 
before  nightfall ;  the  fishermen  all  think  it  is  going  to  be 
an  exceptional  gale.  It  is  blowing  dead  on  shore.  It  will 
be  bad  work  for  any  ships  that  happen  to  be  coming  up 
Channel  to-day.  "Eight  or  ten  of  our  boats  are  out.  We 
thought  we  had  made  out  three  cf  them  just  before  you 
came,  but  the  cloud  closed  down  on  them.  The  fishermen 
are  just  going  to  get  life-lines  ready.  I  am  afraid  we  are 
going  to  have  a  terrible  night  of  it/' 

"  I  came  down  to  ask  you  if  you  will  come  up  to  lunch, 
Jim,  but  I  suppose  you  will  not  be  able  to  tear  yourself 
away  from  here/' 

"  I  shouldn't  like  to  leave  now,  indeed.  There  is  no  say- 
ing Avhat  may  happen.  Besides,  so  many  of  the  fishermen 
are  away  that  I  may  be  useful  here  if  a  vessel  comes  ashore, 
and  there  may  be  half  a  dozen  before  the  morning.  Every 
hand  will  be  wanted  to  give  assistance." 

"  But  you  could  not  get  a  boat  out  through  those  break- 
ers, could  you,  Jim  ?  " 

"Yes,"  Jim  replied,  "we  might  get  one  of  the  big  boats 
through  it  now;  but  i/'s  going  to  be  worse  presently.  When 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT  99 

I  went  out  last  year  with  a  boat  to  the  brig  which  was 
driven  ashore,  it  was  worse  than  this.  I  shall  be  very  glad 
to  come  up  to-morrow  if  you  will  let  me.  I  hear  that  fel- 
low Horton  went  away  last  week." 

"  Yes,  he  went  away,  Jim.  But  why  his  being  there 
should  have  kept  you  from  going  up  is  beyond  me." 

"  I  don't  like  the  fellow,  Mr.  Wilks.  He  may  mean  very 
well,  but  I  don't  like  him.  I  have  been  in  one  row  about 
him  with  the  squire,  and  I  don't  want  another;  but  I  am 
quite  sure  if  I  had  gone  up  much  while  he  was  there  it 
would  have  ended  in  my  trying  to  punch  his  head  again." 

"  In  that  case,  perhaps,"  the  old  soldier  said,  smiling, 
"  you  were  wise  to  stay  away,  Jim.  I  don't  like  the  lad 
myself;  still,  punching  his  head  would  not  have  been  a 
desirable  thing." 

"  I  am  glad  you  don't  like  him,"  James  said  warmly. 
"  Somehow  I  made  up  my  mind  that  you  were  all  sure  to 
like  him,  and  I  don't  suppose  the  idea  made  me  like  him 
any  the  better.  He  was  just  the  free-and-easy  sort  of  fellow 
to  get  along  well,  and  I  was  quite  sure  that  Aggie  would  not 
want  me  when  she  had  him  to  go  about  with  her.  I  saw 
him  drive  through  in  the  pony-carriage  with  her  two  or 
three  times,  and  it  was  easy  to  see  how  thoroughly  she  was 
enjoying  herself." 

"  Well,  it  was  your  own  fault,  my  boy.  If  you  choose  to 
sulk  down  here  and  never  to  go  up  to  the  Hall,  you  can't 
blame  Aggie  for  letting  herself  be  amused  by  some  one 
else." 

"Oh!  I  don't  blame  her,"  James  said  hastily.  "Of 
course  it  is  all  right  that  she  should  enjoy  herself  with  her 
cousin ;  only  somehow  you  know  after  being  great  friends 
with  any  one,  one  doesn't  like  to  see  some  one  else  stepping 
into  your  place." 

"But  as  I  have  told  you  over  and  over  again  during  the 
last  three  years,  Jim,  you   have  wilfully  stepped  out  of 


100  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR. 

your  place.  You  know  how  often  I  have  asked  you  to 
come  up,  and  how  seldom  you  have  come.  You  have 
never  shown  Aggie  that  you  have  any  wish  to  continue  on 
the  footing  of  friendship  on  which  you  stood  toward  each 
other  when  she  was  at  your  mother's,  and  as  you  have 
chosen  to  throw  her  over,  I  don't  see  why  she  shouldn't 
take  to  any  one  else  who  takes  pains  to  make  himself  pleas- 
ant to  her." 

"Oh!  I  don't  blame  her  a  bit,  Mr.  Wilks;  how  could 
you  think  such  a  thing  ?  I  was  very  fond  of  little  Aggie 
when  she  was  at  my  mother's;  but  of  course  I  was  not  ass 
enough  to  suppose  that  she  was  going  trotting  about  the 
country  with  me  when  she  once  went  up  to  the  Hall  as  the 
squire's  granddaughter.  Of  course  the  whole  thing  was 
changed.     Ah!  here  comes  the  rain." 

As  he  spoke  a  sudden  splash  of  rain  struck  them.  It 
might  have  been  noticed  coming  across  the  water  in  a 
white  line.  With  it  came  a  gust  of  wind,  to  which  that 
which  had  already  been  blowing  was  a  trifle.  There  was 
no  more  talking,  for  nothing  less  than  a  shout  could  have 
been  heard  above  the  roaring  of  the  wind.  It  was  scarcely 
possible  to  stand  against  the  fury  of  the  squall,  and  they 
were  driven  across  the  road,  and  took  shelter  at  the  corner 
of  some  houses  where  the  fishermen  had  already  retired. 

The  squall  lasted  but  a  few  minutes,  but  was  soon  suc- 
ceeded by  another  almost  equally  furious,  and  this  seemed 
to  increase  in  strength  until  the  wind  was  blowing  a  per- 
fect hurricane;  but  the  fishermen  now  struggled  across  the 
road  again,  for  between  the  rain  squalls  a  glimpse  had  been 
caught  of  two  of  the  fishing-boats,  and  these  were  now  ap- 
proaching the  shore;  a  mere  rag  of  sail  was  set  on  each, 
and  yet  they  tore  over  the  waves  at  tremendous  speed. 

One  was  some  two  hundred  yards  ahead  of  the  other, 
and  by  the  course  they  were  making  they  would  come 
ashore  nearly  at  the  same  spot.     The  news  that  two  boats 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  101 

were  in  sight  spread  rapidly,  and  many  of  the  fishermen's 
wives  with  shawls  over  their  heads  ran  down  and  stood 
peering  out  from  behind  shelter,  for  it  was  well-nigh  im- 
possible to  stand  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  gale.  An  old 
fisherman  stood  with  a  coil  of  rope  in  his  hand  close  to 
the  water's  edge.  Several  of  the  others  stood  close  to  him, 
and  four  of  them  had  hold  of  the  other  end  of  the  rope. 
When  the  boat  was  within  fifty  yards  of  shore  the  sail  was 
lowered;  but  she  still  drove  straight  on  before  the  wind 
with  scarce  an  abatement  in  her  speed.  A  man  stood  in 
her  bow,  also  with  a  coil  of  rope  in  his  hand,  and  as  he 
approached  threw  it  far  ahead.  The  fisherman  rushed 
waist-deep  into  the  water  and  caught  the  end  of  it,  which 
in  a  moment  was  knotted  to  the  one  m  his  hand. 

"  Eun  along  with  her,"  he  shouted. 

For  a  moment  the  boat  towered  on  the  top  of  a  wave 
which  raced  in  toward  the  shore.  The  next  as  it  came 
took  her  stern,  and  she  was  in  the  act  of  swinging  round 
when  the  strain  of  the  rope  came  upon  her  and  brought 
her  straight  again.  Higher  and  higher  the  wave  rose  and 
then  crashed  down,  and  the  boat  shot  forward  like  an  ar- 
row in  the  foam.  The  fishermen  rushed  forward  and 
caught  it ;  those  on  board  leaped  out  waist-deep ;  all  were 
taken  off  their  feet  by  the  backward  rush,  but  they  clung 
to  the  sides  of  the  boat,  while  the  men  at  the  head-rope, 
with  their  heels  dug  deeply  into  the  sand,  withstood  the 
strain,  and  kept  her  from  being  swept  out  again. 

A  few  seconds  and  the  boat  was  left  dry,  and  the  next 
wave  carried  it  high  up  on  the  beach  amid  a  loud  cheer 
from  the  fishermen  and  lookers-on;  but  there  was  no  time 
to  waste,  for  the  next  boat  was  close  at  hand.  Again  the 
rope  was  thrown  to  the  shore,  but  this  time  the  strain 
came  a  moment  too  late,  the  following  wave  turned  the 
boat  round,  the  next  struck  it  broadside  and  rolled  it  over 
and  over  toward  the  shore.     The  fishermen  in  an  instant 


102  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

joined  hands,  and  rushing  down  into  the  water  strove  to 
grasp  the  men. 

Several  times  those  in  front  were  knocked  down  and 
rolled  up  on  the  beach,  but  three  of  the  crew  were  brought 
in  with  them.  There  was  one  still  missing,  and  there  was 
a  shout  as  he  was  seen  clinging  to  an  oar  just  outside  the 
line  of  breakers.  James  Walsham  had  been  working  with 
the  fishermen  in  saving  those  already  brought  to  shore. 
He  now  fastened  the  end  of  a  line  round  his  body. 

"  You  can  never  get  through  those  rollers — they  will 
break  you  up  like  an  egg-shell,"  the  old  fisherman  shouted. 

"  I  will  dive  through  them/'  Jim  shouted  back.  "  Give 
me  plenty  of  slack,  and  don't  pull  till  you  see  I  have  got 
him." 

The  lad  waited  for  his  opportunity,  and  then  rushing 
down  after  the  sheet  of  white  foam  he  stood  waist-deep  as 
a  great  wave,  some  twelve  feet  high,  towered  up  like  a  wall 
toward  him.  It  was  just  going  to  break  when  James 
plunged  head  foremost  into  it.  There  was  a  crash  which 
shook  the  earth,  a  mass  of  wildly  rushing  foam,  and  then, 
some  ten  yards  beyond  the  spot  where  the  wave  had  broken, 
Jim's  head  appeared  above  the  surface.  It  was  but  for  a 
moment,  for  he  immediately  dived  again  under  the  next 
wave  and  then  came  up  within  a  few  yards  of  the  floating 
oar.  A  stroke  or  two  and  he  was  alongside;  he  seized  the 
man  and  held  up  one  arm  as  a  signal.  In  a  moment  the 
rope  tightened  and  they  moved  toward  shore.  When  they 
were  close  to  the  edge  of  the  breaking  waves  Jim  held  up 
his  hand  and  the  strain  stopped. 

"  Now,"  he  said  to  the  man,  "  the  moment  they  begin  to 
pull  leave  go  of  the  oar  and  throw  your  arms  round  me." 

He  waited  until  a  wave  bigger  than  ordinary  approached, 
and  just  as  it  began  to  pass  under  him  gave  the  signal. 
Higher  and  higher  they  seemed  to  rise,  then  they  were 
dashed  down  with  a  tremendous  shock;  there  was  a  mo- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  103 

menfc's  confusion  as  they  were  swept  along  in  the  white 
water,  Jim  felt  a  terrific  strain,  and  it  seemed  to  him  that 
the  rope  would  cut  him  in  sunder;  then  he  was  seized  by 
a  dozen  strong  arms  and  carried  high  and  dry  before  the 
next  wave  could  reach  him.  For  a  minute  or  two  he  was 
scarce  conscious;  the  breath  had  been  almost  knocked  out 
of  his  body  with  the  break  of  the  wave,  and  the  rushing 
water  seemed  still  singing  in  his  ears. 

"Are  you  hurt,  my  boy  ?  are  you  hurt,  James  ? "  were 
the  first  words  he  clearly  heard. 

"  No,  I  think  I  am  all  right/'  he  said,  trying  to  sit  up. 
"  Is  the  other  fellow  all  right  ?  " 

"  He  has  broken  his  arm,"  one  of  the  fishermen  who  had 
just  helped  the  man  to  his  feet  replied;  "  he  may  be  thank- 
ful it's  no  worse." 

James  was  now  helped  to  his  feet. 

"  I  am  all  right,"  he  repeated  to  Mr.  Wilks,  "except  that 
I  feel  as  if  I  had  a  hot  iron  round  my  body;  that  rope  has 
taken  the  skin  off  all  round  me,  I  fancy,  and  doesn't  it 
smart  just  Avith  the  salt  water!  " 

"0  James,  how  could  you  do  it?"  a  girl's  voice  said 
suddenly.  The  fishermen  drew  aside,  and  Aggie  Linthorne 
pressed  forward. 

The  squire  had  gone  into  her  school-room  and  had  said, 
"  Mrs.  Walsham,  I  think  you  had  better  give  up  your  les- 
sons for  the  morning  and  get  home;  it  is  blowing  a  gale 
now,  and  we  shall  probably  have  the  rain  down  before  long. 
I  will  walk  down  with  you ;  the  wind  is  dead  on  the  shore, 
and  it  will  be  a  grand  sight." 

Aggie  at  once  set  her  mind  on  going  too;  but  the  squire 
refused  until  Mrs.  Walsham  suggested  that  if  it  came  on 
wet  Aggie  could  stop  at  her  house  until  it  cleared  up,  or, 
if  necessary,  till  morning.  Whereupon  the  squire  had  given 
way  and  the  three  had  started  together  for  Sidmouth,  leav- 
ing Mrs.  Walsham  at  her  house  as  they  passed.     The  others 


104  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

had  struggled  down  against  the  wind  until  they  came  within 
sight  of  the  sea.  The  first  boat  had  just  been  run  safely 
on  shore  when  they  arrived,  and  Aggie  gave  a  cry  and  put 
her  hands  over  her  face  as  the  second  boat  was  seen  to 
capsize. 

"  Cling  to  me,  Aggie/'  the  squire  said.  "  See,  they  are 
rushing  in  the  water  to  save  them;  they  will  have  them 
yet!" 

At  the  cheer  which  broke  out  from  the  spectators,  clus- 
tering thickly  now,  as  the  first  of  the  shipwrecked  crew 
was  brought  to  shore,  Aggie  looked  out  again.  It  was  a 
sight  she  never  forgot;  with  the  great  waves  crashing  down 
on  the  shore,  and  the  line  of  straggling  figures  waist-deep 
in  the  white  foam,  in  which  were  scattered  here  and  there 
portions  of  the  boat,  oars,  sails,  and  nets. 

"  Well  done!  well  done! "  the  squire  exclaimed.  " They 
have  dragged  up  three  of  them.  I  don't  know  whether 
there  are  any  more." 

"  Yes,  yes,  look !  "  Aggie  cried;  "there,  out  in  the  waves 
— there,  I  can  see  a  head.  That's  just  about  where  I  was 
nearly  drowned.  0  grandpapa,  take  me  away — I  can't 
look  at  it." 

"There's  some  one  going  out  to  save  him,  Aggie;  listen 
to  the  cheer." 

Aggie  looked  again.  "  0  grandpapa,  stop  him !  stop 
him!"  she  cried;  "it's  James."  But  at  the  same  moment 
the  plunge  was  made  and  the  figure  lost  to  sight. 

Aggie  threw  her  arms  round  her  grandfather  and  hid 
her  face. 

"  I  can't  look,  I  can't  look,"  she  cried ;  "  tell  me  about  it." 

"There,  he  is  up;  bravo!"  the  squire  exclaimed,  almost 
as  excited  as  she  was;  "he  has  dived  again,  dear" — then 
after  a  pause — "there  he  is  close  to  him;  he  has  got  him, 
Aggie !  Now  he  his  wawig  his  hand;  now  they  are  tighten- 
ing the  rope;  now  he  is  waving  hvs  hand  again  and  they 
are  waiting.     There ! " 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  105 

!f  here  was  a  pause  which  seemed  to  the  girl  to  be  endless; 
then  the  squire  cried : 

""They  have  got  them  out,  both  of  them;"  and  a  loud 
cheer  broke  from  all  standing  round. 

"  Come  along,  grandpapa,  let  us  go  down  to  them." 

"Stay  a  moment,  my  dear,  they  may  be  hurt;  it's  bet- 
ter you  should  not  go." 

The  girl  stood  with  her  hands  clasped  gazing  at  the  fish- 
ermen grouped  on  the  shore  stooping  over  the  prostrate 
figures,  then  one  of  them  stood  up  and  waved  his  hand, 
and  the  spectators  knew  that  all  was  well.  Then  the  girl 
ran  down  to  join  them. 

"Why,  Aggie!"  James  exclaimed  in  astonishment,  as 
she  pressed  forward;  "why,  my  dear,  what  brings  you  here 
in.  this  storm  ?     Whatever  will  the  squire  say  ?  " 

"  The  squire  has  brought  her  down  himself,"  Mr.  Lin- 
thorne  said,  following  closely  behind  his  granddaughter; 
"and  he  is  glad  he  did,  James,  for  she  has  seen  a  grand 
sight.  You  are  a  fine  fellow;"  and  he  wrung  the  lad's 
hand.     "A  grand  fellow,  Wilks,  isn't  he  ?  " 

"I  always  said  so,  squire,"  the  old  soldier  said,  his  face 
beaming  with  satisfaction;  "but  now  let  us  get  him  home, 
and  Aggie,  too — the  child  will  be  blown  away."  But  for 
a  minute  or  two  they  could  not  carry  James  off,  so  closely 
did  the  men  and  women  press  round  him  and  shake  him 
by  the  hand.  At  last  they  got  him  away,  and  escorted  by 
a  crowd  of  cheering  boys,  led  him  back  to  his  mother's. 

"  Your  son  is  a  hero,  Mrs.  Walsham !  "  the  squire  ex- 
claimed as  they  entered;  "but  don't  talk  to  him  now,  but 
mix  him  a  glass  of  hot  grog".  Wilks,  you  get  him  between 
the  blankets  directly.  I  will  tell  his  mother  all  about  it 
while  she  is  mixing  the  grog.  Hallo,  Aggie!  why,  bless 
the  child,  she's  fainted," 

The  girl  had  borne  up  till  they  reached  the  house,  toward 
which  the  wind  had  blown  her  along  as  she  clung  to  her 


106  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

grandfather's  arm;  but  the  excitement  had  been  too  much 
for  her,  and  the  instant  they  entered  the  room  she  had 
dropped  into  an  arm-chair  and  at  once  lost  consciousness. 

Mrs.  Walshani  kept  her  presence  of  mind  in  spite  of  her 
bewilderment  at  these  sudden  occurrences.  She  at  once 
laid  the  girl  on  the  sofa,  removed  her  dripping  bonnet  and 
cloak,  and  poured  a  few  drops  of  brandy  between  her  lips, 
while  she  set"  the  squire  to  work  to  chafe  her  hands.  Aggie 
soon  opened  her  eyes  and  recovered  her  consciousness. 

"  Don't  try  to  get  up,  Aggie,"  Mrs.  Walsham  said.  "  You 
are  faint  and  shaken  with  all  this  excitement.  Your  grand- 
papa and  I  were  two  very  foolish  people  to  let  you  come 
out.  Now,  Mr.  Wilks,  the  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  find 
a  boy  outside,  and  send  him  up  to  the  Hall  with  a  message 
that  the  carriage  is  to  come  down  directly.  I  think,  Mr. 
Linthorne,  she  had  better  get  back  home.  I  should  be  glad 
enough,  as  you  know,  to  keep  her  here  for  the  night;  but 
this  house  is  rocking  with  the  wind  now,  and  she  would 
not  be  likely  to  get  any  sleep  here.  I  will  run  up  and  see 
how  James  is,  and  if  he  is  all  right  I  will  come  up  with 
her  and  stop  the  night.  She  is  very  much  shaken,  and 
had  better  not  be  alone." 

Mrs.  Walsham  soon  came  down-stairs  again  and  said  that 
James  said  he  never  felt  better  in  his  life,  and  that  by  all 
means  she  was  to  go  up  to  the  Hall.  She  then  set  about 
and  prepared  a  cup  of  tea,  which  greatly  restored  Aggie, 
and  by  the  time  the  carriage  arrived  the  girl  was  able  to 
walk  to  the  gate. 

Mr.  Wilks  had  offered  to  remain  with  James,  but  the 
latter  would  not  hear  of  it.  The  lad  was  indeed  well  pleased 
to  hear  that  they  were  all  going  up  to  the  Hall,  as  thereby 
he  escaped  hearing  any  more  of  his  own  praises.  Besides, 
he  was  most  anxious  to  get  down  to  the  beach  again,  for  no 
one  could  say  what  might  take  place  there  before  morning. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  he  heard  the  door  close  he  jumped 


THE  WINNING  OP  A  CONTINENT.  107 

out  of  bed,  and  when,  peeping  through,  the  blinds,  he  saw 
the  carriage  drive  off  with  its  four  occupants  he  at  once  be- 
gan to  dress.  He  felt  bruised  and  sore  from  the  blows  he 
had  received,  and  a  red  wheal  round  his  chest  beneath  the 
arms  showed  where  the  rope  had  almost  cut  into  the  flesh. 
However,  he  soon  dressed  himself  and  descended  the  stairs, 
went  into  the  kitchen,  and  told  the  astonished  girl  that  he 
was  going  out;  then  having  made  a  hasty  meal  of  bread 
and  cold  meat,  he  put  on  his  oilskins  again  and  started  for 
the  shore. 

He  did  not,  however,  wait  long.  So  heavy  was  the  sea 
now  that  nothing  whatever  could  be  done  should  any  ves- 
sel drive  ashore,  and  as  for  the  fisher-boats,  the  sailors  shook 
their  heads  as  they  spoke  of  them.  "  They  were  farther 
away  to  the  west,  so  the  chaps  as  got  ashore  tells  us;  they 
may  have  got  in  somewhere  before  it  got  to  the  worst ;  if 
not,  it  must  have  gone  hard  with  them."  Finding  that 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done,  and  that  he  was  much 
more  stiff  and  bruised  than  he  had  believed,  Jim  made 
his  way  back  again  and  turned  into  bed,  where  he  soon  fell 
asleep  and  did  not  wake  until  the  following  morning. 

One  of  the  grooms  had  come  down  from  the  Hall  at  six 
o'clock  to  inquire  how  he  was,  and  the  message  given  by 
the  girl  that  he  had  been  out,  but  that  he  had  come  back 
and  was  now  sound  asleep,  satisfied  Mrs.  Walsham,  and  en- 
abled her  to  devote  her  undivided  attention  to  her  charge, 
who  needed  her  care  more  than  her  son.  Before  night,  in- 
deed, the  squire  had  sent  down  to  Sidmouth  for  Dr.  Wal- 
sham/s  successor,  who  said  that  Aggie  was  very  feverish  and 
must  be  kept  perfectly  quiet  for  some  days.  He  sent  her 
up  a  soothing  draught,  and  Mrs.  Walsham  sat  up  with  her 
all  night.  She  slept  but  little,  and  talked  almost  inces- 
santly, sometimes  rambling  a  little. 

The  first  thing  in  the  morning  the  doctor  was  again  sent 
for,  and  on  his  recommendation  the  squire  at  once  sent 


108  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

off  a  man  on  horseback  to  Exeter  for  the  leading  physician 
of  that  town.  When  he  arrived  late  in  the  afternoon  Ag- 
gie was  somewhat  quieter  and  his  report  was  more  cheering. 

"  Her  pulse  is  very  high/'  he  said ;  "  but  Mr.  Langf ord 
tells  me  that  it  is  not  so  rapid  as  it  was  in  the  morning,  and 
that  he  thinks  the  symptoms  are  abating.  Undoubtedly 
it  is  a  sharp  feverish  attack  brought  on  by  excitement  and 
exposure.  A  very  little  more  and  it  would  have  been  a 
case  of  brain  fever,  but  I  trust  now  that  it  will  soon  pass 
off.  The  sedatives  that  have  been  administered  are  taking 
effect,  and  I  trust  she  will  soon  fall  asleep.  As  you  re- 
quested, I  have  made  my  arrangements  for  staying  here  to- 
night, and  I  trust  that  by  the  morning  we  shall  have  her 
convalescent." 

Mr.  Wilks  had  gone  down  the  first  thing  in  the  morning 
to  see  James,  and  found  him  up  and  about  as  usual.  He 
was  very  greatly  concerned  at  hearing  that  Aggie  had 
passed  a  bad  night,  and  came  four  times  up  to  the  Hall 
during  the  day  to  inquire  about  her;  and  on  his  last  visit, 
late  in  the  evening,  he  was  told  that  she  was  sleeping  quietly, 
and  that  the  doctor  had  every  hope  that  she  would  wake 
in  the  morning  free  from  fever.  This  proved  to  be  the 
case;  but  she  was  ordered  to  keep  her  bed  for  a  day  or  two. 

On  the  morning  after  the  storm  the  wind  had  gone  down 
much,  although  a  tremendous  sea  was  still  breaking  on  the 
shore.  Messages  arrived  in  the  course  of  the  day  to  say 
that  all  the  missing  boats,  with  one  exception,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  the  shore  before  the  storm  was  full  on. 
The  missing  boat  was  never  heard  of  again. 

Two  days  later  James  Walsham  had  strolled  up  the  hill 
to  the  east  of  the  town,  and  was  lying  with  a  book  before 
him  in  a  favorite  nook  of  his  looking  over  the  sea.  It  was 
one  of  the  lovely  days  which  sometimes  come  late  in  au- 
tumn, as  if  the  summer  were  determined  to  show  itself  at 
its  best  before  leaving.     It  could  not  be  said  that  James 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  109 

was  studying,  for  he  was  watching  the  vessels  passing  far 
out  at  sea,  and  inwardly  moaning  over  the  fact  that  he  was 
destined  for  a  profession  for  which  he  had  no  real  liking, 
instead  of  heing  free  to  choose  one  of  travel  and  adventure. 

Presently  he  heard  voices  behind  him.  The  position  in 
which  he  was  lying  was  a  little  distance  down  on  the  slopes 
on  the  seaward  side  of  the  path,  and  as  a  screen  of  bushes 
grew  behind  it  he  could  not  be  seen  by  any  one  passing 
along. 

"All  the  men  with  their  pistols  and  cutlasses  are  to  as- 
semble here  at  ten  o'clock  to-night,  Johnson,  but  do  not 
give  them  orders  too  late,  and  let  them  come  up  one  by 
one  so  as  not  to  attract  attention.  Lipscombe's  men  are  to 
assemble  at  the  same  hour  and  march  to  meet  us.  This 
time,  I  think,  there  is  no  mistake.  The  cargo  is  to  be 
landed  where  I  told  you.  It  will  be  high  tide  at  twelve 
o'clock,  and  they  are  sure  to  choose  that  hour,  so  that  the 
cutter  can  run  close  in.  I  have  sent  off  a  man  on  horse- 
back to  Weymouth  for  the  revenue  cutter  to  come  round. 
If  she's  in  time  we  shall  catch  that  troublesome  lugger  as 
well  as  her  cargo.  She  has  been  a  thorn  in  our  side  for 
the  last  year.     This  time  I  do  hope  we  shall  have  her." 

The  speakers  then  moved  on  out  of  hearing,  but  James 
Walsham  recognized  the  voice  as  that  of  the  revenue  officer 
commanding  the  force  at  Sidmouth. 

Smuggling  was  at  that  time  carried  on  on  a  large  scale 
along  the  coast,  and  there  were  frequent  collisions  between 
those  engaged  in  it  and  the  revenue  officers.  The  sympa- 
thies of  the  population  were  wholly  with  the  smugglers, 
and  the  .cheating  of  the  revenue  was  not  at  all  considered 
in  the  light  of  a  crime.  Many  of  the  fishermen  from  time 
to  time  took  a  hand  in  smuggling  cruises,  and  the  country 
people  were  always  ready  to  lend  assistance  in  landing  and 
carrying  the  cargoes. 

When  out  in  their  boats  at  night  James  had  often  heard 


110  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

the  fishermen  tell  stories  of  their  smuggling  adventures, 
and  more  than  once  he  had  been  with  them  when  they  had 
boarded  a  lugger  laden  with  contraband,  to  warn  them  that 
the  revenue  cutter  was  on  the  cruising  ground,  and  it 
would  not  be  safe  to  attempt  to  run  cargo  at  present.  He 
now  determined  at  once  that  he  would  warn  the  smugglers 
of  their  danger.  The  question  was,  "Where  was  the  cargo 
to  be  run  ?  The  officer  had  not  mentioned  the  spot,  but 
as  the  force  from  the  next  station  to  the  east  was  to  co- 
operate, it  must  be  somewhere  between  the  two. 

Waiting  till  the  speakers  must  have  gone  well  along  the 
cliff,  he  rose  to  his  feet  and  returned  to  Sidmouth.  He 
thought  at  first  of  telling  some  of  the  fishermen  what  he 
had  heard,  but  as,  in  the  event  of  an  affray,  it  might  come 
out  how  the  smugglers  had  been  warned  of  the  intention  of 
the  revenue  officers,  he  thought  there  would  be  less  risk  in 
giving  them  warning  himself.  He  knew  every  path  down 
the  cliff  for  miles,  and  trusted  that  he  should  be  able  to 
make  his  way  down  and  give  the  boats  notice  of  their  dan- 
ger before  the  revenue  men  reached  the  shore. 

At  nine  o'clock  he  dressed  himself  in  the  rough  sailor's 
suit  he  wore  when  he  went  out  with  the  fishermen,  and 
started  along  the  cliff.  For  some  distance  he  kept  well  in- 
land, as  the  officer  might  have  placed  a  man  on  the  look- 
out to  stop  any  one  going  toward  the  scene  of  action.  The 
spot  he  thought  the  most  likely  was  a  mile  and  a  half  along 
the  shore.  There  was  a  good  landing-place,  and  an  easy 
path  up  the  cliff,  and  he  knew  that  cargoes  had  been  more 
than  once  run  here.  Accordingly,  when  he  reached  this 
spot  he  sat  down  among  some  bushes  on  the  edge  of  the 
cliff,  and  waited  for  some  sort  of  signal.  Half  an  hour 
later  he  heard  the  tramp  of  a  number  of  men  passing  along 
beliind  him. 

"  There  go  the  revenue  men,"  he  thought  to  himself.  "  I 
suppose  they  are  going  to  meet  those  coming  the  other  way/' 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  Ill 

An  hour  passed  without  further  sound,  and  James  be- 
gan to  get  uneasy.  If  this  was  the  spot  fixed  for  the  land- 
ing, some  of  the  country  people  ought  to  be  arriving  by 
this  time  to  help  to  carry  off  the  cargo.  They  might,  for 
aught  he  knew,  be  already  near,  waiting  for  the  signal  be- 
fore they  descended  the  path.  No  doubt  the  revenue  men 
would  be  lying  in  wait  a  short  distance  off,  and  would  al- 
low the  friends  of  the  smugglers  to  go  down  to  the  water 
without  letting  them  know  of  their  presence. 

He  kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  water  to  the  east,  watching 
anxiously  for  the  appearance  of  a  light.  Presently  he 
started.  Immediately  in  front  of  him,  about  a  mile  at  sea, 
a  bright  light  was  shown.  In  a  second  it  disappeared. 
Three  times  it  flashed  out,  and  then  all  was  dark.  The 
night  was  a  very  dark  one.  There  was  no  moon,  and  the 
stars  were  obscured,  and  although  he  strained  his  eyes  to 
the  utmost  he  could  not  make  out  the  vessel  from  which 
the  light  had  been  shown. 

"  How  foolish  to  show  such  a  bright  light !  "  he  said  to 
himself.  "It  would  have  been  almost  sure  to  attract  the 
attention  of  any  one  on  the  watch." 

He  made  his  Way  to  the  path  and  descended  to  the  edge 
of  the  water,  and  waited,  expecting  momentarily  to  be 
joined  by  people  from  above.  But  no  one  came.  He 
strained  his  ears  listening  for  the  fall  of  approaching  oars ; 
but  all  was  silent. 

Half  an  hour  passed,  and  then  it  flashed  across  him  that 
the  signal  niust  have  been  made  to  deceive  the  revenue 
men  and  to  cause  them  to  assemble  at  that  spot,  and  so 
leave  the  point  really  determined  upon  free  for  operations. 

With  an  exclamation  of  disgust  at  his  own  stupidity  in 
having  been  deceived,  James  ran  up  the  path  again  at  the 
top  of  his  speed,  and  then  took  the  road  along  the  cliff. 
For  two  miles  he  ran  without  interruption,  and  then  saw  a 
dark  mass  in  front  of  him.     He  turned  off  instantly  to  the 


112  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

left.  Doubtless  he  had  been  heard  approaching,  for  two 
or  three  men  detached  themselves  from  the  rest,  and  started 
to  cut  him  off.  James  ran  straight  inland,  and  in  the 
darkness  soon  lost  sight  of  his  pursuers.  Then  he  turned 
and  made  for  the  cliff  again.  Two  or  three  hundred  yards 
farther  along  there  was  another  path  to  the  shore,  and  this 
he  had  no  doubt  now  was  the  one  the  smugglers  were  about 
to  use.  He  struck  the  cliff  within  a  few  yards  of  the  spot. 
In  an  instant  two  men  jumped  up  and  seized  him. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  " 

For  an  instant  James  thought  that  his  assailants  were 
revenue  men,  but  even  in  the  darkness  he  saw  that  they 
were  countrymen. 

"  Quick !  "  he  said.  The  revenue  men  are  close  at  hand. 
They  are  watching  two  or  three  hundred  yards  along. 
Listen !     Here  they  come." 

A  tramping  of  feet  coming  rapidly  along  the  cliff  was 
clearly  heard,  and  the  men  with  an  oath  released  their  hold 
and  ran  off,  giving  a  loud  whistle,  and  made  for  their  carts, 
which  were  stationed  a  few  hundred  yards  inland.  James 
dashed  down  the  path,  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 
He  had  not  gone  many  yards  before  he  met  a  number  of 
men  coming  up  with  tubs  of  spirits  on  their  shoulders. 

"  Throw  them  down/'  he  cried,  "  and  make  along  the 
shore.     The  revenue  men  are  close  behind." 

His  advice  was  taken  at  once.  The  tubs  were  thrown 
down,  and  went  leaping  and  bounding  down  to  the  shore, 
while  the  men  followed  James  at  full  speed  down  the  path. 

Their  pursuers  were  close  behind.  There  was  no  longer 
any  use  in  concealment.  Their  officer  shouted  to  them  to 
press  forward  at  full  speed,  while  from  the  beach  below  a 
hubbub  of  voices  suddenly  broke  out,  and  at  the  same  mo- 
ment a  blue  light  was  lit  on  the  cliff  above. 

"Beat  them  back,  my  lads,"  one  of  the  smugglers  was 
shoutinar  as  James  ran  down  to  the  little  crowd  of  men 


THE    WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  113 

standing  near  two  boats;  "we  are  five  to  one  against  them; 
come  on." 

"  Surrender  in  the  king's  name/'  the  revenue  officer 
shouted,  as  he  rushed  forward,  followed  by  his  men. 

The  answer  was  a  pistol-shot,  and  in  a  moment  a  furi- 
ous melee  began.  The  advantage  in  numbers  was  all  on 
the  side  of  the  smugglers.  Those  who  had  landed  with 
the  kegs  were  all  armed  with  pistol  and  cutlass,  and  the 
countrymen  had  heavy  sticks  and  bludgeons.  The  ten 
revenue  men  would  have  been  overpowered,  but  suddenly 
a  shout  was  heard,  and  another  party  of  sailors  ran  up  along 
the  shore  and  joined  in  the  fray.  It  was  the  detachment 
from  the  other  station,  which  had  been  waiting  at  some 
little  distance  along  the  shore  for  the  signal  from  above. 

"To  the  boat,  lads,"  the  leader  of  the  smugglers  shouted; 
"  we  are  caught  in  a  trap." 

The  smugglers  rushed  to  the  boats,  and  James,  who  was 
standing  by  the  water's  edge,  leaped  on  board  with  them. 
Most  of  the  country  people  fled  at  once  along  the  shore, 
pursued  by  some  of  the  revenue  men,  while  the  others  made 
a  rush  for  the  boats.  These  had  been  kept  afloat  a  few 
yards  from  the  shore.  Grapnels  had  been  dropped  over 
their  sterns,  and  as  the  men  in  charge  hauled  out  the  mo- 
ment the  fight  began,  they  were  in  water  shoulder  deep 
when  the  smugglers  scrambled  on  board. 

The  revenue  men  dashed  in  after  them  and  strove  to 
hold  the  boats ;  but  they  were  beaten  off  with  oars  and  cut- 
lasses, and  the  boats  were  soon  hauled  out  into  deep  water. 
The  grapnels  were  lifted,  and  the  men,  many  of  whom  were 
wounded  more  or  less  severely  in  the  fray,  got  out  their 
oars  and  pulled  to  the  lugger  amid  a  dropping  fire  of  pistol- 
shots  from  shore. 


CHAPTEE  VII. 


PRESSED. 


Many  and  deep  were  the  maledictions  nttered  as  the 
smugglers  climbed  on  board  their  vessel ;  but  their  captain 
said  cheerily: 

"  Never  mind,  lads,  it  might  have  been  worse;  it  was  only 
the  first  cargo  of  tubs,  and  half  of  those  weren't  ashore; 
the  lace  and  silk  are  all  right,  so  no  great  harm  Is  done- 
Set  to  work  and  get  up  sail  as  soon  as  you  can;  likely 
enough  there  is  a  cutter  in  the  offing ;  that  blue  light  must 
have  been  a  signal.  They  seem  to  have  got  news  of  our 
landing  somehow/' 

The  crew  at  once  set  to  work  to  get  up  sail.  Three  or 
four  of  the  countrymen,  who  had,  like  James,  got  on  board 
the  boats,  stood  in  a  group  looking  on  confused  and  helpless; 
but  James  lent  his  assistance  until  the  sails  were  hoisted 
and  the  craft  began  to  move  through  the  water. 

"  Now  then,"  the  captain  said,  "  let  us  go  below  and  look 
at  the  wounds;  we  daren't  show  a  light  here  on  deck." 

The  wounds  were  for  the  most  part  slashes  and  blows  with 
cutlasses,  for  in  the  darkness  and  confusion  of  the  fight  only 
two  of  the  bullets  had  taken  effect :  one  of  the  smugglers  had 
fallen  shot  through  the  head,  while  one  of  those  on  board  had 
his  arm  broken  by  a  pistol  ball.  "  Now  for  our  passengers," 
the  captain  said  after  the  wounds  had  been  bandaged. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  and  he  lifted  a  lantern  to  James'  face. 
f(  Why,  it  is  young  Mr.  Walsham ! "  he  exclaimed  in  surprise. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  115 

James  knew  the  man  now,  for  the  lugger  had  several 
times  put  in  at  Sidmouth,  where,  coming  in  as  a  peaceable 
trader,  the  revenue  officers,  although  well  aware  of  the  na- 
ture of  her  vocation,  were  unable  to  touch  her,  as  vessels 
could  only  be  seized  when  they  had  contraband  on  board. 

"  Why,  what  brings  you  into  this  affair,  young  master  ?  " 

James  related  the  conversation  he  had  overheard,  and 
his  determination  to  warn  the  smugglers  of  their  danger. 

"  I  should  have  managed  it  in  plenty  of  time  if  I  had 
known  the  exact  spot  on  which  you  were  going  to  land ;  but 
I  saw  a  signal  light  two  miles  down  the  coast,  and  that  kept 
me  there  for  half  an  hour.  It  struck  me  then  it  was  a 
ruse  to  attract  the  officers  from  the  real  spot  of  landing,  but 
though  I  ran  as  hard  as  I  could  I  was  only  just  before  them." 

"  Thank  you  heartily,"  the  smuggler  said.  "  I  expect  you 
saved  us  from  a  much  worse  mess  than  we  got  into.  I  have 
no  doubt  they  meant  to  capture  the  tubs  as  they  were  loaded 
without  raising  an  alarm,  and  the  fellows  on  the  shore  would 
have  come  up  quietly  and  taken  us  by  surprise  as  we  were 
landing  the  last  boat-loads.  Thanks  to  you,  we  have  got 
well  out  of  it,  and  have  only  lost  one  of  our  hands  and  a 
score  or  so  of  tubs." 

"  You  can't  put  me  ashore,  I  suppose  ?  "  James  said. 

"  That  I  can't,"  the  smuggler  replied.  "  I  have  no  doubt 
that  cutter  from  Weymouth  is  somewhere  outside  us,  and 
we  must  get  well  off  the  coast  before  morning.  If  we  give 
her  the  slip  I  will  send  you  off  in  a  boat  some  time  to-mor- 
row. I  must  go  ashore  myself  to  make  fresh  arrangements 
for  getting  my  cargo  landed." 

James  went  on  deck  again;  the  breeze  was  light,  and  the 
^ agger  was  slipping  along  quietly  through  the  water.  He 
could  faintly  see  the  loom  of  the  cliffs  on  his  right,  and 
knew  that  the  lugger  was  running  west,  keeping  as  close 
inshore  as  she  could  to  avoid  the  cutter  watching  for  her 
outside.    He  wondered  what  they  would  say  at  home  when 


116  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

it  was  found  that  he  was  missing;  but  consoled  himself  by- 
thinking  that  his  mother,  who  was  still  up  at  the  Hall,  would 
no  doubt  suppose  that  he  had  gone  out  for  a  night's  fishing, 
as  he  had  often  done  before,  and  that  as  she  was  away  he 
had  forgotten  to  leave  word  with  the  servant. 

Suddenly  a  blue  light  burned  out  on  the  top  of  the  cliff. 

An  angry  exclamation  broke  from  the  captain,  who  was 
standing  at  the  helm. 

"  Confound  it!"  he  exclaimed;  "  they  have  caught  sight 
of  us  from  the  cliff,  and  are  signalling  our  whereabouts  to 
the  cutter." 

As  he  spoke  he  turned  the  vessel's  head  seaward,  and  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  sailed  straight  out. 

"Now,"  he  said  quietly,  "I  think  we  must  be  out  of 
sight  of  those  fellows  on  shore.  Get  her  on  the  other  tack, 
lads,  but  be  as  quiet  as  you  can  about  it;  there's  no  saying 
how  close  the  cutter  may  be  to  us." 

The  great  sails  were  lowered  as  the  boat's  head  paid  off 
to  the  east.  The  yards  were  shifted  to  the  other  sides  of 
the  masts,  and  the  sails  hoisted  again,  and  the  lugger  began 
to  retrace  her  way  back  along  the  coast. 

"  It's  just  a  chance  now,"  the  captain  said  to  James,  who 
was  standing  close  by  him,  "  whether  the  commander  of 
the  cutter  guesses  or  not  that  we  shall  change  our  course; 
he  will  know  we  are  likely  enough  to  do  it," 

"  What  should  you  do  if  you  were  in  his  place  ?  "  James 
said. 

"  I  should  run  straight  out  to  sea  and  lay  to  eight  or  ten 
miles  off;  he  would  be  able  to  make  us  out  then  at  daylight 
whichever  course  we  take,  whereas,  by  trying  to  follow  in 
the  dark  he  would  run  the  chance  of  missing  us  altogether. 
I  wish  the  wind  would  get  up  a  bit;  we  are  not  moving 
through  the  water  more  than  three  knots  an  hour,  and  it's 
dying  away.  However,  I  fancy  it  will  blow  up  again  in 
the  morninsr." 


Young  James  on  board  the  smuggler. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  117 

"  Do  you  know  whether  she  is  faster  than  you  are  ? " 
James  asked. 

"  There  is  not  much  difference/'  the  captain  replied.  "  If 
the  wind  is  strong  we  have  the  legs  of  her,  but  in  a  light 
breeze  she  is  the  fastest.  She  has  chased  us  half  a  dozen 
times  already,  but  we  have  always  given  her  the  slip/' 

"  Then,  even  if  she  does  run  out  to  sea  as  you  say,"  James 
said,  "  we  ought  to  be  safe,  as  we  should  be  a  dozen  miles 
or  so  along  the  coast.''' 

"  Yes,  but  not  that  ahead  of  her,"  the  captain  answered, 
"  for  she  would  be  so  much  to  the  seaward,  still  that  would 
be  far  enough;  but  she  will  begin  to  fire  long  before  we 
are  in  range,  and  will  bring  any  other  king's  ship  within 
hearing  down  on  us.  However,  I  dare  say  we  will  give  her 
the  slip  as  we  have  done  before." 

The  hours  passed  slowly.  The  wind  continued  to  drop 
until  the  vessel  scarcely  moved  through  the  water,  and 
after  a  while  the  sweeps  were  got  out  and  were  worked 
until  the  day  broke.  All  eyes  were  on  the  look-out  for  the 
cutter  as  the  day-dawn  began  to  steal  over  the  sky. 

"  There  she  is,  sure  enough,"  the  captain  exclaimed  at 
length ,  "  lying  to  on  the  watch  some  eight  miles  to  the 
west.  She  must  have  seen  us,  for  we  are  against  the  light 
sky;  but  like  "ourselves  she  is  becalmed." 

It  was  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  however,  before  the  position 
of  the  cutter  was  seen  to  change;  then  her  head  was  sud- 
denly turned  east. 

"  She  has  got  the  wind,"  the  captain  said;  "now  we  only 
want  a  good  breeze  and  you'll  have  a  lively  day  of  it,  lads." 

From  the  time  when  she  had  turned  the  lugger  had  made 
only  about  eight  miles  along  the  coast  to  the  east,  and  an 
equal  distance  seaward,  for  the  tide  had  set  against  her. 

The  morning  was  bright  and  clear,  the  sea  was  perfectly 
smooth ;  as  yet  the  sails  hung  idly  down,  but  there  were  dark 
lines  on  the  water  that  showed  that  a  breeze  was  coming. 


118  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"We  shall  have  plenty  of  wind  presently/'  the  skipper 
said.  "  See  how  light  the  sky  is  to  the  south;  there  will  be 
white  tops  on  the  waves  in  an  hour  or  two.  Here  comes  a 
flaw.     Haul  in  your  sheets,  lads — now  she  begins  to  move." 

The  puff  did  not  last  long,  dying  away  to  nothing  in  a 
few  minutes,  and  then  the  lugger  lay  immovable  again. 
The  men  whistled,  stamped  the  deck  impatiently,  and  cast 
anxious  glances  back  at  the  cutter. 

"  She  is  walking  along  fast,"  the  skipper  said,  as  he  ex- 
amined her  through  a  glass.  "  She  has  got  the  wind  steady 
and  must  be  slipping  along  at  six  knots  an  hour.  This  is 
hard  luck  on  us.  If  we  don't  get  the  breeze  soon  it  will 
be  a  close  thing  of  it." 

Another  quarter  of  an  hour  passed  without  a  breath  of 
wind  ruffling  the  water.  The  cutter  was  fully  two  miles 
nearer  to  them  than  when  she  had  first  been  seen,  and  was 
holding  the  wind  steadily. 

"  Here  it  comes,  lads,"  the  skipper  said  cheerfully.  "An- 
other ten  minutes  and  we  shall  have  our  share." 

The  time  seemed  long  indeed  before  the  dark  line  on  the 
water  reached  the  lugger,  and  there  was  something  like  a 
cheer  from  the  crew  as  the  craft  heeled  slightly  over  ar  1  then 
began  to  move  through  the  water.  It  was  the  true  breeze 
this  time,  and  increased  every  moment  in  force  till  the 
lugger  was  lying  well  over  with  a  white  wave  at  her  bow. 

But  the  cutter  had  first  gained  by  the  freshening  breeze, 
and  James  Walsham,  looking  back  at  her,  judged  that  there 
were  not  more  than  four  miles  of  water  between  the  boats. 
The  breeze  was  nearly  due  west,  and  as  the  lugger  was 
headed  as  close  as  she  would  lie  to  it  the  cutter  had  hauled 
in  her  sheets  and  lay  up  on  the  same  course,  so  that  they 
were  now  sailing  almost  parallel  to  each  other. 

"  If  we  could  change  places,"  the  skipper  said,  "  we  should 
be  safe.  We  can  sail  nearer  the  wind  than  she  can,  but  she 
can  edge  away  now,  and  has  all  the  advantage  of  us." 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  119 

James  had  already  perceived  this,  and  wondered  that  the 
lugger  did  not  pay  off  before  the  wind  so  as  to  make  a  stern 
chase  of  it. 

"  I  want  to  get  a  few  miles  farther  out,"  the  skipper  said. 
"  Likely  enough  there  is  another  cutter  somewhere  inshore. 
It  is  quite  enough  to  have  one  of  these  fellows  at  one's  heels." 

Another  half-hour  and  the  cutter,  edging  in,  was  little 
over  three  miles  distant;  then  the  skipper  gave  the  word, 
the  helm  was  put  down,  the  sheets  slackened  off,  and  in  a 
minute  the  lugger  was  running  dead  before  the  wind  with 
her  sails  boomed  out  one  on  either  side.  The  cutter  fol- 
lowed her  example,  and  hoisted  a  large  square  sail.  The 
wind  was  blowing  fresh  now,  and  the  sea  was  getting  up. 
Not  a  cloud  was  to  be  seen  in  the  sky,  and  the  sun  shone 
brightly  on  the  white  heads  which  were  beginning  to  show 
on  the  water.  The  lugger  was  tearing  along,  occasionally 
throwing  a  cloud  of  spray  over  her  bows  and  leaving  a 
track  of  white  water  behind  her. 

"  I  think  she  still  gains  on  us,"  the  captain  said  to  the 
mate,  who  had  taken  the  helm. 

"Ay,  she  is  gaining,"  the  sailor  agreed;  "but  the  wind  is 
freshening  every  minute.  She  can't  carry  that  top-sail 
much  longer.     It's  pressing  her  bows  under  now." 

"  She  will  go  almost  as  fast  without  it,"  the  skipper 
said. 

The  commander  of  the  cutter  seemed  to  be  of  the  same 
opinion,  for  just  as  he  spoke  the  top-sail  was  seen  to  flutter, 
and  then  descended  to  the  deck.  It  was  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  before  the  skipper  spoke  again. 

"  I  think  we  just  about  hold  our  own,"  he  said.  "  I  didn't 
think  the  Polly  could  have  held  her  running." 

"  She  couldn't  in  a  light  wind,"  the  mate  replied ;  "  but 
with  this  wind  it  will  want  a  fast  boat  to  beat  her." 

The  hands  were  now  set  to  work  shifting  the  kegs  further 
aft. 


120  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"  Thau  s  better,"  the  skipper  said  presently.  "  I  am  sure 
we  are  gaining  ground,  and  our  masts  will  stand  it  if  the 
cutter's  will," 

With  her  stern  low  in  the  water  the  lugger  was  now  tear- 
ing along  at  a  tremendous  pace.  Stout  as  were  her  masts 
and  strong  the  stays,  James  Walsham  wondered  at  their 
standing  the  strain  of  the  great  brown  sails,  as  they  seemed 
at  times  almost  to  lift  her  bodily  out  of  the  water.  Buoy- 
ant as  the  craft  was,  the  waves  broke  over  her  bows  and 
flooded  her  decks  and  sheets  of  spray  flew  over  her. 

The  cutter  with  her  sharper  bows  and  all  her  sail  forward 
was  feeling  it  still  more  severely,  and  the  spirits  of  all  on 
board  the  lugger  rose  rapidly,  as  it  was  evident  that  they 
were  dropping  their  pursuers.  Suddenly  the  gaff  of  the 
cutter's  main-sail  was  seen  to  droop,  and  the  boom  was 
hauled  on  board. 

"  I  thought  it  would  be  too  much  for  them,"  the  skipper 
said  exultantly.     "They  are  going  to  reef." 

"  "We  had  better  reef  down  too,  I  think,"  the  mate  said ; 
"  she  has  had  as  much  as  she  could  bear  for  some  time." 

"I'll  hold  on  ten  minutes  longer,"  the  skipper  said; 
"  every  half-mile  counts." 

But  before  that  time  was  up  the  sails  were  one  after  an- 
other reefed,  for  the  wind  continued  to  freshen.  The  sky 
was  still  cloudless,  but  there  was  a  misty  light  in  the  air, 
and  a  heavy  sea  was  beginning  to  run. 

Suddenly  a  gun  flashed  out  from  the  cutter.  The  skipper 
uttered  an  oath.  Their  pursuer  was  more  than  three  miles 
astern,  and  he  knew  that  she  could  only  be  firing  as  a  signal. 
There  were  several  large  ships  in  sight  on  their  way  up  or 
down  the  Channel.  To  these  little  attention  had  been  paid. 
The  skipper  shaded  his  eyes  with  a  hand  and  gazed  earn- 
estly at  a  large  ship  on  the  weather  beam  some  four  miles 
away. 

"  That  is  a  frigate,  sure  enough,"  he  exclaimed.     "  We 


THE   WINNING   OF   A    CONTINENT.  121 

are  fairly  caught  between  them.  Haul  in  the  sheets,  lads; 
we  will  have  a  try  for  it  yet." 

The  lugger  was  brought  sharp  up  into  the  wind,  and  was 
soon  staggering  along  seaward  with  the  lee  bulwark  almost 
under  water.  The  cutter  instantly  lowered  her  square  sail 
and  followed  her  example,  continuing  to  fire  a  gun  every 
minute.  All  eyes  were  turned  toward  the  frigate,  which 
was  now  on  the  port  beam. 

*'  We  shall  cross  two  miles  to  windward  of  her/'  the  skip- 
per said.  "  If  she  keeps  on  her  course  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
will  do  it,  but  she  is  sure  to  notice  the  guns.  The  wind 
will  take  them  down  to  her." 

"Ah,  there  she  goes." 

As  he  spoke  a  puff  of  smoke  darted  out  from  the  frigate's 
bow.  Her  sails  fluttered  and  her  head  bore  round  until 
she  was  on  the  same  tack  as  the  lugger.  The  latter  was 
now  about  equidistant  from  her  two  pursuers.  The  cutter 
and  the  lugger  were  nearly  abreast,  but  the  former  being 
to  windward  could  edge  down.  The  frigate  was  three 
miles  to  leeward,  but  she  was  fully  a  mile  ahead. 

"  There  is  no  way  out  of  it,"  the  skipper  said  bitterly. 
"In  a  light  wind  we  could  run  away  from  the  frigate,  but 
with  this  breeze  we  have  no  chance  with  her.  Look  how 
she  is  piling  on  sail !  " 

The  crew  shared  the  captain's  opinion;  some  shook  their 
fists  and  cursed  vainly  at  their  pursuers,  some  stood  sullenly 
scowling,  while  the  French  portion  of  the  crew  gave  way  to 
wild  outbursts  of  rage.  Eapidly  the  three  vessels  closed  in 
toward  each  other,  for  the  cutter  edged  in  so  rapidly  that 
the  lugger  was  obliged  to  bear  off  toward  the  frigate  again. 
As  a  last  hope  the  lugger's  course  was  changed,  and  she 
again  tried  running,  but  the  superior  weight  and  power  of 
the  frigate  brought  her  rapidly  down.  Presently  a  heavy 
gun  boomed  out,  and  a  shot  came  dancing  along  the  water 
a  hundred  yards  away. 


122  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"  Lower  the  sails/'  the  skipper  said.  "  It  is  no  use  going 
farther.  The  inside  of  a  prison  is  better  than  the  bottom 
of  the  sea,  anyhow." 

Down  came  the  sails,  and  the  lugger  lay  rolling  heavily 
in  the  waves  as  the  frigate  bore  down  upon  her  with  a 
white  roll  of  water  on  her  stem. 

"  Get  ready,  lads,"  the  skipper  said.  "  There  is  just  one 
chance  yet.  She  will  run  by  us.  The  instant  she  is  past,  up 
sail  again.  We  shall  be  a  mile  away  before  they  can  get  her 
round  into  the  wind  again.  If  she  doesn't  cripple  us  with 
her  shot  we  may  weather  her  yet.  We  needn't  mind  the 
cutter." 

The  frigate  came  foaming  along,  the  crew  busy  in  taking 
sail  off  her.  The  instant  she  had  passed  and  was  preparing 
to  round  to,  the  sails  of  the  lugger  new  up  like  magic,  and 
she  was  soon  tearing  along  almost  in  the  eye  of  the  wind  as 
if  to  meet  the  cutter,  which  was  running  down  toward  her. 

"  Down  below,  lads,  every  man  ( of  you,"  the  captain 
shouted ;  "  we  shall  have  a  broadside  in  a  minute." 

In  a  moment  the  deck  was  clear  of  all  save  the  skipper 
and  his  mate,  who  stood  at  the  tiller.  The  frigate  swept 
slowly  round,  and  then,  as  her  guns  came  to  bear,  shot  after 
shot  was  fired  at  the  lugger,  already  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  to  the  windward.  The  shot  hummed  overhead,  one 
struck  the  water  alongside  a  yard  or  two  away,  but  still 
she  was  untouched. 

"  Some  of  her -shots  went  as  near  the  cutter  as  they  did 
to  us,"  the  skipper  said.     "  She  won't  fire  again." 

They  were  now  fast  approaching  the  cutter,  which,  when 
she  was  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  changed  her  course  and 
was  brought  up  again  into  the  wind,  firing  the  four  guns 
she  carried  on  her  broadside  as  she  came  round.  The  lug- 
ger's head  was  paid  off  and  this  placed  the  cutter  on  her 
starboard  quarter,  both  going  free.  The  former  was  trav- 
elling the  faster,  but  a  gun  was  fired  from  the  cutter's  bow, 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  123 

and  the  shot  struck  splinters  from  the  lugger's  quarter. 
The  crew  were  on  deck  again  now. 

"  Train  that  gun  over  the  stern,  "  the  skipper  said.  "  If 
we  can  knock  her  mast  out  of  her  we  are  saved;  if  not, 
they  will  have  us  3ret." 

He  had  scarcely  spoken  when  there  was  a  crash :  a  shot 
from  the  cutter  had  struck  the  mizzen  mast  a  few  feet 
above  the  deck,  and  the  mast  and  sail  fell  over  leeward. 
There  was  a  cry  of  rage  and  dismay. 

"  Luck's  against  us,"  the  skipper  said  bitterly.  "  Down 
with  the  sail,  lads;  this  time  it  is  all  up  with  us."  The  sail 
was  lowered,  and  the  lugger  lay  motionless  in  the  water 
until  the  cutter  came  up  and  lay  within  fifty  yards  of  her. 

A  boat  was  at  once  lowered,  and  an  officer  was  rowed  to 
the  lugger. 

"  So  we  have  caught  you,  my  friends,  at  last,"  he  said  as 
he  sprang  on  board. 

"  You  wouldn't  have  done  it  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
frigate,"  the  skipper  said. 

"No;  I  will  say  your  craft  sails  like  a  witch,"  the  officer 
replied.  "  I  wish  we  could  have  done  it  without  her.  It  will 
make  all  the  difference  to  us;  the  frigate  will  get  the  lion's 
share  of  the  prize.     What  is  the  value  of  your  cargo  ?  " 

"  Two  hundred  kegs  of  brandy,"  the  skipper  replied, 
"  and  fifteen  hundred  pounds'  worth  of  lace  and  silks." 

"A  gjod  prize,"  the  officer  said.  "  Not  your  own,  I  hope, 
for  you  have  made  a  brave  chase  of  it." 

"  No,"  the  skipper  answered.  "  Fortunately  I  only  took 
a  very  small  share  this  time;  it's  bad  enough  to  lose  my 
boat;  I  own  two-thirds  of  her." 

"  I  am  sorry  for  you,"  the  officer  said,  for  he  was  in  high 
spirits  at  the  success  of  the  chase  and  could  afford  to  be 
pleasant.  "Here  comes  a  boat  from  the  frigate.  You 
played  them  a  rare  trick,  and  might  have  got  off  if  it  hadn't 
been  for  that  lucky  shot  of  oars.     I  see  you  were  just  get- 


124  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

ting  out  a  stern-chaser,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  gun.  "  It 
is  well  for  you  that  you  didn't  fire  it,  as  you  can't  be 
charged  with  armed  resistance." 

"  I  wish  I  had  fired  it,  for  all  that.  It  might  have  been 
my  luck  to  cripple  you." 

"  It  would  have  made  no  difference  if  you  had,"  the  offi- 
cer replied.  "The  frigate  would  have  overhauled  you; 
with  this  wind  she  would  sail  five  feet  to  your  four." 

The  boat  from  the  frigate  now  came  alongside. 

"  How  are  you,  Cotterel  ?  "  the  officer  said,  as  he  stepped 
on  board.  "  That  was  a  lucky  shot  of  yours;  but  I  think 
it's  lucky  for  the  lugger  that  you  hit  her,  for  the  captain 
was  so  savage  at  that  trick  they  played  him  that  I  believe 
he  would  have  sunk  her  when  he  came  up  to  her  again. 
I  heard  him  say  to  the  first  lieutenant,  e  I  won't  give  her  a 
chance  to  play  me  such  a  trick  again.' " 

"  What  orders  have  you  brought  ?  "  the  other  asked. 

"  We  are  outward  bound,  so  you  are  to  put  a  crew  on 
board  and  take  her  into  port;  but  as  we  are  very  short  of 
hands  we  will  relieve  you  of  the  prisoners." 

All  on  board  the  lugger  were  at  once  ordered  into  the 
frigate's  boat  and  were  rowed  off  to  the  ship.  On  gaining 
the  deck  they  were  drawn  up  in  line,  and  the  captain  and 
first  lieutenant  came  up.  The  good-humor  of  the  former 
had  been  restored  by  the  capture  of  the  lugger. 

"Hallo!"  he  said,  looking  at  the  bandaged  heads  and 
arms  of  some  of  the  men,  "  so  you  have  been  having  a  fight 
trying  to  run  your  cargo,  I  suppose;  that  will  make  i; 
all  the  worse  for  you  when  you  get  on  shore.  Now,  I  might 
press  you  all  without  giving  you  a  choice,  but  I  don't  w;mt 
unwilling  hands,  so  I  will  leave  it  to  you.  Which  is  it  t«- 
be — an  English  prison  for  two  or  three  years,  or  a  cruise 
on  board  the  Thetis  ?  " 

The  greater  part  of  the  men  at  once  stepped  forward 
and  announced  their  willingness  to  volunteer. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT  125 

"  Who  have  we  here  ?  "  the  captain  asked,  looking  at  the 
three  countrymen. 

"  They  are  passengers,  sir/'  the  skipper  of  the  lugger  said 
with  a  half-smile. 

A  lew  questions  brought  to  light  the  facts  of  the  sur- 
prise while  the  cargo  was  being  landed. 

"  Well,  my  lads,"  the  captain  said,  "  you  are  in  the  same 
boat  with  the  rest.  You  were  engaged  in  an  unlawful  en- 
terprise and  in  resisting  his  majesty's  officers.  You  will 
get  some  months  in  prison  anyhow,  if  you  go  back.  You 
had  better  stay  on  board  and  let  me  make  men  of  you." 

The  countrymen,  however,  preferred  a  prison  to  a  man- 
o'-war. 

James  Walsham  had  been  turning  over  the  matter  in  his 
mind.  He  had  certainly  taken  no  part  in  the  fray,  but  that 
would  be  difficult  to  prove,  and  he  could  not  account  for  his 
presence  except  by  acknowledging  that  he  was  there  to  warn 
them.  It  would  certainly  be  a  case  of  imprisonment.  Surely 
it  would  be  better  to  volunteer  than  this.  He  had  been 
longing  for  the  sea,  and  here  an  opportunity  opened  for 
him  for  abandoning  the  career  his  mother  intended  for 
him  without  setting  himself  in  opposition  to  her  wishes. 
Surely  she  would  prefer  that  he  should  be  at  sea  for  a  year 
or  two  to  his  being  disgraced  by  imprisonment.  He  there- 
fore now  stepped  forward. 

"  I  do  not  belong  to  the  lugger's  crew,  sir,  and  had  nothing 
to  do  with  running  their  cargo,  though  I  own  I  was  on  the 
spot  at  the  time.  I  am  not  a  sailor,  though  I  have  spent  a 
good  deal  of  time  on  board  fishing-boats.  Mr.  Horton, 
whom  I  see  there,  knows  me,  and  will  tell  you  that  I  am  a 
son  of  a  doctor  in  Sidmouth.  But  as  I  have  got  into  a  scrape 
I  would  rather  serve  than  go  back  and  stand  a  trial." 

"Very  well,  my  lad,"  the  cajDtain  said;  "I  like  your 
spirit,  and  will  keep  my  eye  on  you." 

The  three  countrymen  and  four  of  the  French  sailors 


126  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

who  declined  to  join  the  Thetis  were  taken  back  to  the 
cutter,  and  the  Thetis  at  once  proceeded  on  her  way  down 
channel.  James  had  given  a  hastily-scribbled  line  on  the 
back  of  an  old  letter  which  he  happened  to  have  in  his 
pocket,  to  the  men  who  were  to  be  taken  ashore,  but  he  had 
very  little  hope  that  it  would  ever  reach  his  mother.  Nor 
indeed  did  it  ever  do  so.  When  the  cutter  reached  Wey- 
mouth with  the  lugger,  the  men  captured  in  her  were  at 
once  sent  to  prison,  where  they  remained  until  they  were 
tried  at  assizes  three  months  afterward ;  and  although  all 
were  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  unlawful  resistance  to  the 
king's  officers,  as  there  was  no  proof  against  any  of  the  six 
men  individually,  they  were  sentenced  to  a  year's  imprison- 
ment for  smuggling.  Whether  Jim's  hurriedly-written 
letter  was  thrown  overboard,  or  whether  it  was  carried  in 
the  pocket  of  the  man  to  whom  he  gave  it  until  worn  into 
fragments,  James  never  knew,  but  it  never  reached  his 
mother. 

The  news  that  James  was  missing  was  brought  to  her 
upon  the  day  after  the  event  by  Mr.  Wilks.  He  had,  as 
usual,  gone  down  after  breakfast  to  report  how  Aggie  wtis 
getting  on,  with  a  message  from  his  mother  that  her  charge 
was  now  so  completely  restored  that  it  was  unnecessary  for 
her  to  stay  longer  at  the  Hall,  and  that  she  should  come 
home  that  evening  at  her  usual  time.  Hearing  from  the 
girl  that  James  had  not  returned  since  he  went  out  at  nine 
o'clock  on  the  previous  evening,  the  old  soldier  sauntered 
down  to  the  beach  to  inquire  of  the  fishermen  in  whose  boat 
James  had  gone  out. 

To  his  surprise  he  found  that  none  of  the  boats  had  put 
to  sea  the  evening  before.  The  men  seemed  less  chatty  and 
communicative  than  usual ;  most  of  them  were  preparing 
to  go  out  with  their  boats,  and  none  seemed  inclined  to 
enter  into  a  conversation.  Bather  wondering  at  their  un< 
usual  reticence,  Mr.  Wilks  strolled  along  to  where  the  offi 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  127 

cer  of  the  revenue  men  was  standing  with  his  boatswain 
watching  the  fishermen. 

"A  fine  morning,  lieutenant." 

"  Yes,"  the  latter  assented.  "  There  will  be  wind  pres- 
ently.    Have  you  heard  of  the  doings  of  last  night  ? " 

"  No,"  Mr.  Wilks  said  in  surprise,  "  I  have  heard  nothing. 
I  was  just  speaking  to  the  fishermen,  but  they  don't  seem 
in  as  communicative  a  mood  as  usual  this  morning." 

"  The  scamps  know  it  is  safest  for  them  to  keep  their 
mouths  shut  just  at  present,"  the  officer  said  grimly.  "  I 
have  no  doubt  a  good  many  of  them  were  concerned  in  that 
affair  last  night.  We  had  a  fight  with  the  smugglers,  two 
of  my  men  were  shot  and  one  of  theirs,  and  there  were  a 
good  many  cutlass  wounds  on  each  side.  We  have  taken 
a  score  of  prisoners,  but  they  are  all  country  people  who 
were  assisting  in  the  landing;  the  smugglers  themselves 
all  got  off.  We  made  a  mess  of  the  affair  altogether,  thanks 
to  some  fellow  who  rushed  down  and  gave  the  alarm  and 
upset  all  the  plans  we  had  laid. 

"  It  is  too  provoking.  I  had  got  news  of  the  exact  spot 
and  hour  at  which  the  landing  was  to  take  place.  I  had 
my  men  all  up  on  the  cliff,  and  as  the  fellows  came  up  with 
kegs  they  were  to  have  been  allowed  to  get  a  hundred  yards 
or  so  inland  and  would  there  have  been  seized,  and  any 
shout  they  made  would  not  have  been  heard  below.  Lieu- 
tenant Fisher  with  his  party  from  the  next  station  was  to 
be  a  little  way  along  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs,  and  when  the 
boats  came  with  the  second  batch  he  was  to  rush  forward 
and  capture  them  while  we  came  down  from  above;  then 
we  intended  to  row  off  and  take  the  lugger — there  was  not 
wind  enough  for  her  to  get  away. 

"All  was  going  well,  and  the  men  were  just  coming  up 
the  cliff  with  the  tubs,  when  some  one  who  had  passed  us 
on  the  cliff  ran  down  shouting  the  alarm.  We  rushed  down 
at  once,  but  arrived  too  late.    They  showed  fight,  and  kept 


128  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

us  back  till  Fisher's  party  came  up;  but  by  that  time  the 
boats  were  afloat,  and  the  smugglers  managed  to  get  in  and 
carry  them  off  in  spite  of  us.  We  caught,  as  I  tell  you, 
some  of  the  countrymen,  and  Fisher  has  taken  them  off  to 
Weymouth,  but  most  of  them  got  away.  There  are  several 
places  where  the  cliff  can  be  climbed  by  men  who  know  it, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  half  those  fishermen  you  see  there 
were  engaged  in  the  business." 

"  Then  the  smuggler  got  away  ?  "  Mr.  Wilks  asked. 

"  I  don't  know,"  the  lieutenant  said  shortly.  "  I  had  sent 
word  to  Weymouth,  and  I  hope  they  will  catch  her  in  the 
offing.  The  lugger  came  down  this  way  first,  but  we  made 
her  out  and  showed  a  blue  light.  She  must  have  turned 
and  gone  back  again,  for  this  morning  at  daylight  we  made 
her  out  to  the  east.  The  cutter  was  giving  chase,  and  at 
first  ran  down  fast  toward  her.  Then  the  smugglers  got  the  ■ 
wind,  and  the  last  we  saw  of  them  they  were  running  up 
the  Channel,  the  cutter  some  three  miles  astern.  I  would 
give  a  couple  of  months'  pay  to  know  who  it  was  that  gave 
the  alarm.  I  expect  it  was  one  of  those  fishermen.  As  far 
as  my  men  could  make  out  in  the  darkness  the  fellow  was 
dressed  as  a  sailor.  But  I  must  say  good-morning,  for  I 
am  just  going  to  turn  in." 

Mr.  Wilks  had  been  on  the  point  of  mentioning  that 
James  was  missing,  but  a  vague  idea  that  he  might  in  some 
way  be  mixed  up  with  the  events  of  the  previous  night 
checked  the  question  on  his  lips,  and  yet  he  thought,  as  the 
officer  walked  away,  it  was  not  probable.  Had  James  been 
foolish  enough  to  take  part  in  such  a  business  he  would 
either  have  been  taken  prisoner,  or  would,  after  he  escaped, 
have  returned  home.  He  had  evidently  not  been  taken 
prisoner,  or  the  officer  would  have  been  sure  to  mention  it. 
Much  puzzled,  he  walked  slowly  back  to  the  fishermen. 
Some  of  the  boats  had  already  pushed  off.  He  went  up  to 
three  of  the  men,  whose  boat,  being  higher  up  than  the 
rest,  would  not  be  afloat  for  another  quarter  of  an  hour. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  129 

"  Look  here,  lads,"  he  said.  "  My  young  friend  Jim 
Walsham  is  missing  this  morning,  and  hasn't  been  at  home 
all  night.  As  none  of  the  fishing-boats  put  out  in  the 
evening  he  cannot  have  gone  to  sea.  Can  any  of  you  tell 
me  anything  about  him  ?  " 

The  men  gave  no  answer. 

"  You  need  not  be  afraid  of  speaking  to  me,  you  know," 
he  went  on,  "and  it's  no  business  of  mine  whether  any  of 
the  men  on  the  shore  were  concerned  in  that  affair.  The 
lieutenant  has  just  been  telling  me  of  last  night ;  but  hear- 
ing of  that,  and  finding  Jim  is  missing,  I  can't  help  thinking 
there  is  some  connection  between  the  two  things.  Nothing 
you  say  to  me  will  go  further,  that  I  can  promise  you;  but 
the  lad's  mother  will  be  in  a  terrible  way.  I  can't  make  it 
out,  for  I  know  that  if  he  had  anything  to  do  with  this 
smuggling  business  he  would  have  told  me.  Again,  if  he  was 
there  and  got  away,  he  would  naturally  have  come  straight 
home,  for  his  absence  would  only  throw  suspicion  upon 
him." 

"  Well,  Mr.  Wilks,"  the  youngest  of  the  sailors  said,  "  I 
don't  know  nothing  about  it  myself.  No  one  does,  so  far  as 
I  know,  but  I  have  heard  say  this  morning  as  how  he  was 
there  or  thereabouts;  but  don't  you  let  out  as  I  told  you, 
'cause  they  would  want  to  know  who  I  heard  it  from." 

"  You  can  rely  upon  my  silence,  my  lad,  and  here's  half 
a  guinea  to  drink  my  health  between  you.  But  can't  you 
tell  me  a  little  more  ?  " 

"  Well,  sir,  they  do  say  as  how  it  war  Mr.  Jim  as  came 
running  down  into  the  middle  of  them  on  the  beach,  shout- 
ing the  alarm,  with  the  revenue  men  close  at  his  heels.  I 
don't  say  as  it  were  he — likely  enough  it  weren't — but  that's 
the  talk,  and  that's  all  I  have  heared  about  the  matter. 
How  he  came  for  to  know  of  it  or  how  he  got  there  no  one 
knows,  for  sartin  he  has  had  nought  to  do  with  any  land- 
ings afore.  He  was  a  lot  among  us,  but  I  know  as  he  never 
9 


130  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA. 

was  told  about  it;  for,  though  every  one  would  have  trusted 
Jim,  still,  seeing  how  he  was  placed  with  his  mother  up  at  the 
Hall,  and  the  squire  a  magistrate,  it  was  thought  better  as 
he  shouldn't  be  let  into  it.  Every  one  on  the  shore  here 
likes  Jim." 

"  But  if  he  was  there  and  he  hasn't  been  taken  prisoner 
■ — and  I  am  sure  the  lieutenant  would  have  told  me  if  he 
was — why  shouldn't  he  have  got  home  ?  " 

"We  didn't  know  as  he  hadn't  got  home,  did  us,  Bill  ? '' 
the  fisherman  appealed  to  one  of  his  comrades. 

"  No,"  the  other  said.  "  We  thought  likely  he  had  got 
safely  away  with  the  rest.  It  war  a  dark  night,  and  I  ex- 
pect as  every  one  was  too  busy  looking  after  himself  to  no- 
tice about  others." 

"He  may  have  been  wounded,"  the  old  soldier  said  anx- 
iously, "and  may  be  in  hiding  in  some  house  near  the 
place." 

The  fisherman  was  silent.  Such  a  thing  was  of  course 
possible. 

"  He  might  that,"  one  of  the  sailors  said  doubtfully,  "  and 
yet  I  don't  think  it.  The  chase  was  a  hot  one,  and  I  don't 
think  any  one  wounded  so  bad  as  he  couldn't  make  his  way 
home  would  have  got  away.  I  should  say  as  it  wur  more 
likely  as  he  got  on  board  one  of  the  boats.  It  seems  to  me 
as  though  he  might  have  come  to  warn  us — that  is  to  say, 
to  warn  them,  I  mean — just  to  do  'em  a  good  turn,  as  he 
was  always  ready  to  do  if  he  had  the  chance.  But  he 
wouldn't  have  had  anything  to  do  with  the  scrimmage,  and 
might  have  been  standing  quiet  like  near  the  boats  when 
the  other  lot  came  along  the  shore,  and  then,  seeing  as 
the  game  was  up,  he  might  likely  enough  have  jumped  o?) 
board  and  gone  off  to  the  lugger." 

"  That  is  possible,"  Mr.  Wilks  said.  "Anyhow,  I  will  go 
off  at  once  and  make  inquiries  «,t  all  the  houses  within  a 
mile  or  so  of  the  landing-place." 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 


DISCHARGED. 


Contrary  to  his  usual  habits  of  punctuality,  Mr.  Wilks 
did  not  return  to  luncheon  at  the  Hall,  and  it  was  two 
hours  later  before  he  came  in,  looking  fagged  and  anxious. 
He  had  been  to  all  the  farm-houses  within  two  miles  of  the 
scene  of  the  fight,  and  had  ascertained  for  certain  that  Jim 
was  not  lying  wounded  at  any  of  them.  At  first  his  inqui- 
ries had  everywhere  been  coldly  received.  There  was 
scarce  a  farm-house  near  the  coast  but  the  occupant  had  re- 
lations with  the  smugglers,  assisting  with  their  carts  and 
men  at  the  landings,  or  having  hiding-places  where  goods 
could  be  stowed  away.  At  first,  therefore,  all  professed 
entire  ignorance  of  the  events  of  the  previous  night;  but 
when  persuaded  by  the  earnestness  of  the  old  soldier's 
manner  that  his  mission  was  a  friendly  one  they  became 
more  communicative,  and  even  owned  that  some  of  their 
men  had  been  taken  prisoners  and  marched  to  Weymouth, 
but  none  of  them  had  heard  of  any  wounded  man  being  in 
hiding. 

Convinced  at  last  that  James  must  have  gone  off  to  the 
lugger,  Mr.  Wilks  returned  to  Sidmouth  a  prey  to  great 
anxiety.  Everything  depended  now  on  whether  the  lugger 
was  captured.  If  so,  James  would  have  to  stand  his  trial 
for  being  concerned  in  the  fight  on  the  beach,  and  as  two 
of  the  revenue  men  had  been  killed  his  sentence  might  be 
a  heavy  one. 


132  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

If  she  got  away  all  would  be  well.  They  would  doubt- 
less hear  by  letter  from  Jim,  and  it  would  be  better  that  he 
should  not  return  at  present  to  Sidmouth,  but  should  at 
once  take  up  his  residence  in  London  and  commence  his 
studies  there.  He  met  the  squire  just  as  the  latter  was 
starting  for  Sidmouth. 

"  Well,  Wilks,  we  began  to  think  that  you  were  lost," 
he  said  cheerfully.  "Aggie  was  down-stairs  to  lunch,  and 
was  mightily  offended  that  you  should  not  be  there  at  her 
first  appearance.  But  you  look  tired  and  fagged.  Has 
anything  gone  wrong  ?  " 

"  Things  have  gone  very  wrong,  squire."  And  he  related 
to  his  friend  all  the  news  that  he  had  gathered,  and  his 
conviction  that  James  Walsham  was  on  board  the  lugger. 

"  This  is  a  pretty  kettle  of  fish,"  the  squire  said  irritably. 
"  What  on  earth  did  the  boy  mean  by  getting  himself  mixed 
up  with  such  an  affair  as  that  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  foolish  business,  squire,"  the  old  soldier  agreed. 
"  But  we  can't  expect  wise  heads  on  young  shoulders,  I  sup- 
pose. He  somehow  or  other  learnt  the  surprise  which  the 
revenue  men  intended,  and  as  most  of  his  friends,  the  fish- 
ermen, would  probably  be  concerned  in  it,  he  went  to  give 
them  notice,  intending,  no  doubt,  to  go  quietly  back  again 
before  the  revenue  men  arrived.  I  don't  know  that  he's 
altogether  to  be  blamed  in  the  matter.  Most  young  fellows 
would  do  the  same." 

"  Well,  I  suppose  they  would,"  the  squire  agreed  reluct- 
antly;  "  but  it  is  a  most  awkward  business.  If  the  lad  gets 
caught  and  gets  two  or  three  years'  imprisonment  it  will 
ruin  his  prospects  in  life.  His  mother  will  be  broken- 
hearted over  the  business,  and  I  am  sure  Aggie  will  take  it 
terribly  to  heart.  They  were  great  friends  of  old,  though 
she  hasn't  seen  much  of  him  for  the  last  two  or  three  years, 
and  of  course  that  affair  of  the  other  day  has  made  quite 
a  hero  of  him." 


THE   WINNING   OF   A   CONTINENT.  133 

"  We  must  hope  the  lugger  will  get  safely  over  to  France/' 
his  companion  said;  "then  no  great  harm  will  have  been 
done." 

"  We  must  hope  so/'  the  squire  assented  moodily.  "  Con- 
found the  young  Jackanapes,  turning  everything  upside 
down  and  upsetting  us  all  with  his  mad-brain  freaks." 

Mrs.  Walsham  was  greatly  distressed  when  the  news  was 
broken  to  her  by  Mr.  Wilks,  and  Aggie  cried  so  that  the 
squire  at  last  said  she  must  go  straight  up  to  bed  unless 
she  stopped,  for  she  would  be  making  herself  ill  again. 
When  she  was  somewhat  pacified  the  matter  was  discussed 
in  every  light,  but  the  only  conclusion  to  be  arrived  at  was 
that  their  sole  hope  rested  in  the  lugger  getting  safely  off. 

"  Of  course,  my  dear  madam,"  the  squire  said,  "  if  they 
are  taken  I  will  do  my  best  to  get  a  pardon  for  your  son. 
I  am  afraid  he  will  have  to  stand  his  trial  with  the  rest; 
but  I  think  that,  with  the  representations  I  will  make  as 
to  his  good  character,  I  may  get  a  mitigation  anyhow  of  a 
sentence.  If  they  find  out  that  it  was  he  who  gave  the 
alarm  there  will  be  no  hope  of  a  pardon ;  but  if  that  doesn't 
come  out  one  would  represent  his  being  there  as  a  mere 
boyish  freak  of  adventure,  and  in  that  case  I  might  get  him 
a  free  pardon.  You  must  not  take  the  matter  too  seriously 
to  heart;  it  was  a  foolish  business,  and  that  is  the  worst 
that  can  be  said  of  it." 

"  I  think  it  was  a  grand  thing,"  Aggie  said  indignantly, 
"  for  him  to  risk  being  shot,  and  imprisoned,  and  all  sorts 
of  dreadful  things,  just  to  save  other  people." 

"And  I  think  you  are  a  goose,  Aggie,"  the  squire  said. 
"  If  every  one  were  to  go  and  mix  themselves  up  in  other 
people's  business  there  would  be  no  end  of  trouble.  I  sup- 
pose next  you  will  say  that  if  you  heard  me  arranging  with 
the  constable  to  make  a  capture  of  some  burglars,  you 
would  think  it  a  grand  thing  to  put  on  your  hat  to  run  off 
to  warn  them." 


134  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"0  grandpajm,  how  can  you  say  such  a  thing!"  the 
girl  said;  "burglars  and  smugglers  are  quite  different. 
Burglars  are  wicked  men,  and  thieves  and  robbers;  smug- 
glers are  not — they  are  only  trying  to  get  goods  in  without 
paying  duty." 

"  They  try  to  rob  the  king,  my  dear,  and  in  the  eyes  of 
the  law  are  just  as  criminal  as  burglars;  both  of  them  are 
leagued  to  break  the  law,  and  both  will  resist  and  take  life 
if  they  are  interfered  with.  I  allow  that  in  general  esti- 
mation the  smugglers  are  looked  upon  in  a  more  favorable 
light,  and  that  a  great  many  people  who  ought  to  know 
better  are  in  league  with  them,  but  that  does  not^bter  the 
facts  of  the  case." 

The  girl  did  not  argue  the  question,  but  the  squire  was 
perfectly  aware  that  he  had  in  no  way  convinced  her,  and 
that  her  feeling  that  James  Walsham's  action  was  a  highly 
meritorious  one  was  in  no  way  shaken.  It  was  agreed  that 
nothing  was  to  be  said  about  James's  absence,  and  after 
taking  some  refreshment  Mr.  Wilks  went  down  into  Sid- 
mouth  again  to  tell  the  girl  at  Mrs.  Walsham's  that  she  was 
not  to  gossip  about  James  being  away. 

Three  days  later  a  letter  was  received  by  the  squire  from 
Eichard  Horton. 

"  I  am  taking  the  opportunity  of  writing  a  few  lines  to 
you,  my  dear  uncle,  as  I  have  a  chance  of  sending  it  ashore 
by  the  revenue  cutter  Thistle,  which  is  lying  alongside  of 
us.  Between  us  we  have  just  captured  a  rascally  smug- 
gling lugger,  with  a  cargo  of  lace,  silk,  and  spirits.  You 
will,  I  am  sure,  be  surprised  and  grieved  to  hear  that  among 
the  crew  of  the  lugger  was  James  Walsham.  I  could  hardly 
believe  my  eyes  when  I  saw  him  in  such  disreputable  com- 
pany; it  will  be  a  sad  blow  for  his  poor  mother.  As  we 
were  short  of  hands  our  captain  offered  the  crew  of  the  lug- 
ger the  choice  of  shipping  with  us,  or  being  sent  on  shore 
for  trial.    Most  of  them  chose  the  former  alternative,  among 


THE   WINNING  OP  A  CONTINENT.  135 

them  James  Walsham,  of  which  I  was  glad,  as  his  mother 
will  be  spared  the  disgrace  of  his  being  placed  in  the  dock 
with  his  associates.  I  need  not  say  that  if  I  could  have 
obtained  his  release  I  should  have  done  so,  knowing  that 
you  had  a  high  opinion  of  him;  but  it  was,  of  course,  out 
of  my  power  to  interfere/' 

The  squire  was  alone  in  his  study  when  he  received  the 
letter,  for  it  was  mid-day  before  the  post  arrived  at  Sid- 
mouth,  when  a  man  from  the  Hall  went  down  each  day  with 
a  bag  to  fetch  the  letters.  He  rang  the  bell  and  ordered 
the  servant  to  tell  Mr.  Wilks  he  should  be  glad  if  he  would 
step  in  to  him.  When  his  friend  came  he  handed  him  the 
letter  without  a  word. 

"  That  settles  the  matter,"  he  said,  as  he  threw  the  letter 
angrily  down  upon  the  table.  "A  malicious  young  viper! 
I  wish  I  had  him  here." 

"  It  is  not  nicely  worded,"  the  squire  said  gravely ;  "  but 
it  was  an  unpleasant  story  to  have  to  tell." 

"  It  was  not  an  unpleasant  story  for  him  to  tell,"  the  old 
soldier  said  hotly.  "  There  is  malice  in  every  line  of  it. 
He  speaks  of  the  men  as  James's  associates,  talks  about  the 
disgrace  he  would  bring  on  his  mother.  There's  malice, 
squire,  in  every  line  of  it." 

"  I'm  afraid  it's  a  bad  letter,"  the  squire  assented  gravely. 

"  It's  a  natural  letter,"  Mr.  Wilks  said  savagely.  "  It  is 
written  in  a  hurry,  and  he's  had  no  time  to  pick  and  choose 
his  words  and  round  off  his  sentences  as  he  generally  does 
in  his  letters  to  you.  He  was  so  full  of  malicious  exultation 
that  he  did  not  think  how  much  he  was  showing  his  feeling 
as  he  wrote." 

"  It's  a  bad  letter  and  a  nasty  letter,"  the  squire  assented ; 
"  but  let  that  pass  now.  The  first  question  is — How  are  we 
to  tell  Jim's  mother  ?  Do  you  think  it  will  be  a  relief  to 
her  or  otherwise  ?  " 

"  It  will  be  a  blow  to  know  that  the  lugger  has  been  cap- 


136  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

tured,"  Mr.  Wilks  said — "a  severe  blow,  no  doubt,  for  her 
escape  is  what  we  have  been  building  our  hopes  upon.  It 
will  be  a  heavy  blow,  too,  for  her  to  know  that  James  is  a 
seaman  before  the  mast,  that  it  will  be  years  before  she  will 
see  him  again,  and  that  all  her  plans  for  his  future  are  up- 
set. But  I  think  this  will  be  much  better  for  her  than  if 
she  knew  he  was  a  prisoner  and  would  have  to  stand  a  trial. 
Between  ourselves,  squire,  as  far  as  the  lad  himself  is 
concerned  I  am  not  sure  that  he  will  be  altogether  sorry 
that  events  have  turned  out  as  they  have.  In  our  talks  to- 
gether he  has  often  confided  to  me  that  his  own  inclinations 
were  altogether  for  a  life  of  activity  and  adventure;  but 
that,  as  his  mother's  heart  was  so  set  upon  his  following  his 
father's  profession,  he  had  resolved  upon  never  saying  a 
word  to  her  which  would  lead  her  to  suppose  that  his  own 
wishes  lay  in  any  other  direction.  This  business  will  give 
him  the  opportunity  he  has  longed  for,  to  see  the  world 
without  his  appearing  in  any  way  to  thwart  his  mother's 
plans." 

"At  any  rate,"  the  squire  said,  "  I  am  heartily  glad  he 
has  got  off  being  tried.  Even  if  I  had  got  a  free  pardon 
for  him,  it  would  have  been  a  serious  slur  upon  him  that 
he  had  been  imprisoned,  and  would  have  been  awkward 
for  us  all  in  the  future.  I  think,  Wilks,  I  will  leave  it  to 
you  to  break  it  to  his  mother." 

"  Very  well,"  the  other  agreed.  "  It  is  an  unpleasant 
business,  squire;  but  perhaps  I  had  better  do  it.  It  may 
console  her  if  I  tell  her  that  at  heart  he  always  wanted  to 
go  to  sea,  and  that,  accustomed  as  he  is  to  knock  about  in 
the  fishermen's  boats,  he  will  find  it  no  hardship  on  board 
a  man-o'-war  and  will  come  back  in  the  course  of  two  or 
three  years  none  the  worse  for  his  cruise.  She  may  think 
he  will  take  up  doctoring  again  after  that,  though  I  have 
my  doubts  whether  he  will  do  that;  however,  there  is  no 
use  in  telling  her  so.    Shall  I  show  her  that  letter,  squire  ?  " 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  137 

"  No,"  the  squire  replied ;  "  of  course  you  can  tell  her 
what's  in  it;  but  I  will  keep  the  letter  myself.  I  would 
give  a  good  deal  if  he  had  not  written  it.  It  is  certainly 
badly  worded,  though  why  he  should  feel  any  malice  toward 
the  other  is  more  than  I  can  tell." 

His  companion  was  about  to  speak,  but  thought  better 
of  it,  and  without  another  word  went  to  break  the  news  to 
Mrs.  "Walsham. 

Mrs.  Walsham  was  terribly  upset.  After  suffering  her  to 
cry  for  some  time  in  silence,  Mr.  Wilks  said : 

"My  dear  madam,  I  know  that  this  news  must  distress 
you  terribly;  but  it  may  be  that  in  this,  as  in  all  things,  a 
providence  has  overruled  your  plans  for  your  son  for  his 
own  good.  I  will  tell  you  now  what  you  would  never  have 
known  had  this  affair  never  occurred.  Jim  at  heart  hates 
his  father's  profession.  He  is  a  dutiful  son,  and  rather  than 
give  you  pain  he  was  prepared  to  sacrifice  all  his  own  feel- 
ings and  wishes.  But  the  lad  is  full  of  life  and  energy;  the 
dull  existence  of  a  country  surgeon  in  a  little  town  like  this 
is  the  last  he  would  adopt  as  his  own  choice;  and  I  own 
that  I  am  not  surprised  that  a  lad  of  spirit  should  long  for 
a  more  adventurous  life.  I  should  have  told  you  this  long 
ago,  and  advised  you  that  it  would  be  well  for  you  both  to 
put  it  frankly  to  him,  that  although  you  would  naturally 
like  to  see  him  following  his  father's  profession,  still  that 
you  felt  that  he  should  choose  for  himself;  and  that  should 
he  select  any  other  mode  of  life  you  would  not  set  your 
wishes  against  his.  But  the  lad  would  not  hear  of  my  do- 
ing so;  he  said  that  rather  than  upset  your  cherished  plans 
he  would  gladly  consent  to  settle  down  in  Sidmouth  for 
life.  I  honored  him  for  his  filial  spirit ;  but  frankly  I  think 
he  was  wrong.  An  eagle  is  not  made  to  live  in  a  hen-coop, 
nor  a  spirited  lad  to  settle  down  in  a  humdrum  village;  and 
I  own  that  although  I  regret  the  manner  of  his  going,  I 
canici:  look  upon  if,  .  s  an  unmixed  evil  that  the  force  of 


138  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

circumstances  has  taken  him  out  of  the  course  marked  out 
for  him,  and  that  he  will  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
life  and  adventure." 

Mrs.  Walsham  had  listened  with  a  surprise  too  great  to 
admit  of  her  interrupting  the  old  soldier's  remarks. 

"  I  never  dreamed  of  this/'  she  said  at  last  when  he 
ceased.  "  I  cannot  remember  now  that  I  ever  asked  him, 
but  I  took  it  for  granted  that  he  would  like  nothing  better 
than  to  follow  in  his  father's  steps.  Had  I  known  that  he 
objected  to  it  I  would  not  for  a  moment  have  forced  him 
against  his  inclinations.  Of  course  it  is  natural  that,  being 
alone  in  the  world,  I  should  like  to  have  him  with  me  still, 
but  I  would  never  have  been  so  selfish  as  to  have  sacrificed 
his  life  to  mine.  Still,  though  it  would  be  hard  to  have 
parted  from  him  in  any  way,  it  is  harder  still  to  part  like 
this.  If  he  was  to  go  he  need  not  have  gone  as  a  common 
sailor.  The  squire,  who  has  done  so  much  for  him,  would 
no  doubt,  instead  of  sending  him  to  school,  have  obtained 
a  midshipman's  berth  for  him  or  a  commission  in  the  army; 
but  it  is  dreadful  to  think  of  him  as  a  common  sailor,  lia- 
ble to  be  flogged." 

"  Well,  Mrs.  Walsham,  perhaps  we  may  set  the  matter 
partly  to  rights. '  I  will  speak  to  the  squire,  and  I  am  sure 
he  will  write  to  his  friend  at  the  admiralty,  and  have  an 
order  sent  out  at  once  for  Jim's  discharge.  At  the  same 
time  it  would  be  better  that  he  should  not  return  here  just 
at  present.  His  name  may  come  out  at  the  trial  of  the 
smugglers  as  being  concerned  in  the  affair,  and  it  would 
be  better  that  he  should  stay  away  till  that  matter  blows 
over.  At  any  rate,  if  I  were  you  I  should  write  to  him, 
telling  him  that  you  know  now  that  he  has  no  taste  for 
the  medical  profession,  and  that  should  he  see  anything 
that  he  thinks  will  suit  him  in  America,  you  would  not 
wish  him  to  come  home  immediately  if  he  h;is  a  fancy  for 
staying  out  there;  but  that,  if  he  chooses  to  return,  you  are 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  139 

dure  that  the  squire  will  exert  himself  to  give  him  a  start 
in  any  other  profession  he  may  choose." 

Mrs.  Walsham  agreed  to  carry  out  the  suggestion,  and 
that  afternoon  the  squire  sent  off  a  letter  to  his  friend  at 
the  admiralty,  and  three  letters  were  also  posted  to  James 
himself. 

The  voyage  of  the  Thetis  was  uneventful.  Her  destina- 
tion was  Hampton,  at  the  opening  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  where 
the  troops  on  board  would  join  the  expedition  under  Gen- 
eral Braddock,  which  was  advancing  up  the  Potomac. 
When  she  arrived  there  they  found  several  ships  of  war 
under  Commodore  Keppel.  Braddoek's  force  had  marched 
to  Wills  Creek,  where  a  military  post  named  Fort  Cumber- 
land had  been  formed.  The  soldiers  on  board  were  at  once 
disembarked,  and  marched  up  the  banks  of  the  Potomac 
to  join  the  force  at  Fort  Cumberland.  The  sailors  were 
employed  in  taking  stores  up  the  river  in  boats. 

James  Walsham  had  done  his  best  during  the  voyage  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  his  duties.  His  experience  in  the 
fishing-boats  was  useful  to  him  now,  and  he  was  soon  able 
to  do  his  work  as  an  able-bodied  seaman.  His  good  spirits 
and  willingness  rendered  him  a  general  favorite.  He  was 
glad  that  he  was  not  put  in  the  same  watch  with  Eichard 
Horton,  as,  after  their  first  meeting,  the  young  lieutenant 
showed  no  signs  of  recognition.  He  was  not,  James  found, 
popular  among  the  men.  He  was  exacting  and  overbear- 
ing with  them,  and  some  on  board  who  had  served  with 
him  on  his  previous  voyage  had  many  tales  to  his  disad- 
vantage. 

A  fortnight  after  the  arrival  of  the  Thetis  at  Hampton 
orders  were  issued  among  the  ships  of  war  for  thirty  vol- 
unteers for  Braddoek's  expedition,  of  which  the  Thetis  was 
to  furnish  ten.  So  many  sent  in  their  names  that  the  first 
lieutenant  had  difficulty  in  choosing  ten,  who  were  looked 
UDon  with  envy  by  the  rest  of  the  ship's  company,  for  there 


140  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

seemed  little  chance  at  present  of  fighting  at  sea,  and  the 
excitement  of  a  march  on  shore,  with  adventures  of  all 
sorts,  and  encounters  with  the  French  and  their  Indian 
allies,  seemed  delightful  to  the  tars.  Upon  the  following 
day  a  ship  arrived  from  England,  and  an  hour  afterward 
an  order  was  passed  forward  that  the  first  lieutenant  wanted 
James  Walsham  upon  the  quarter-deck. 

"  Walsham,"  he  said,  "  an  order  has  just  come  from  the 
admiralty  for  your  discharge,  and  you  are  to  have  a  passage 
in  the  first  ship  returning,  if  you  choose  to  take  it.  I  am 
sorry  you  are  leaving  the  ship,  for  I  have  noticed  that  you 
show  great  willingness  and  activity,  and  will  make  a  first- 
rate  sailor.  Still,  I  suppose  your  friends  in  England  did 
not  care  about  your  remaining  before  the  mast." 

James  touched  his  hat  and  walked  forward.  He  was 
scarcely  surprised,  for  he  had  thought  that  hi's  mother 
would  probably  ask, the  squire  to  use  his  influence  to  obtain 
his  discharge.  He  scarcely  knew  whether  he  was  glad  or 
sorry.  He  was  in  a  false  position,  and  could  not  hope  for 
promotion  except  by  some  lucky  chance,  such  as  was  not 
likely  to  occur,  of  distinguishing  himself. 

At  the  same  time  he  sighed  as  he  thought  that  he  must 
now  return  and  take  up  the  profession  for  which  his  mother 
had  intended  him.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  however, 
the  ship's  corporal  came  round  and  distributed  the  mails, 
and  James  to  his  delight  found  there  were  three  letters  for 
him.  He  tore  open  that  from  his  mother.  It  began  by 
gently  upbraiding  him  for  getting  himself  mixed  up  in  the 
fight  between  the  smugglers  and  the  revenue  men. 

"In  the  next  place,  my  dear  boy,"  she  said,  "I  must 
scold  you  even  more  for  not  confiding  in  your  mother  as  to 
your  wishes  about  your  future  profession.  Mr.  TVilks  has 
opened  my  eyes  to  the  fact  that,  while  I  have  all  along  been 
taking  it  for  granted  that  your  wishes  argeedwith  mine  as 
to  your  profession,  you  have  really  been  sacrificing  all  your 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  141 

own  inclinations  in  order  to  avoid  giving  me  pain.  I  am 
very  thankful  to  him  for  having  opened  my  eyes,  for  I 
should  have  been  grieved  indeed  had  I  found  when  too  late 
that  I  had  chained  you  down  to  a  profession  you  dislike. 

"  Of  course  I  should  have  liked  to  have  had  you  with  me, 
but  in  no  case  would  have  had  you  sacrifice  yourself;  still 
less  now,  when  I  have  met  with  such  kind  friends  and  am 
happy  and  comfortable  in  my  life.  Therefore,  my  boy,  let 
us  set  aside  at  once  all  idea  of  your  becoming  a  doctor. 
There  is  no  occasion  for  yea  to  choose  immediately  what 
you  will  do.  You  are  too  old  now  to  enter  the  royal  navy, 
and  it  is  well  that  before  you  finally  decide  on  a  profes- 
sion you  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing  something  of  the 
world. 

"  I  inclose  bank-notes  for  a  hundred  pounds,  so  that  if 
you  like  you  can  stay  for  a  few  weeks  or  months  in  the 
colonies,  and  then  take  your  passage  home  from  New  York 
or  Boston.  By  that  time  too  all  talk  about  this  affair  with 
the  smugglers  will  have  ceased ;  but  as  your  name  is  likely 
to  come  out  at  the  trial  of  the  men  who  were  taken,  so  the 
squire  thinks  it  will  be  better  for  you  to  keep  away  for  a 
time." 

The  rest  of  the  letter  was  filled  up  with  an  account  of 
the  excitement  and  alarm  which  had  been  felt  when  he 
was  first  missed. 

"  We  were  glad,  indeed,"  she  said,  "  when  a  letter  was 
received  from  Eichard  Horton  saying  that  you  were  on 
board  the  Thetis.  Mr.  Wilks  tells  me  it  was  an  abominably 
spiteful  letter,  and  I  am  sure  the  squire  thinks  so  too  from 
the  tone  in  which  he  spoke  this  afternoon  about  his  nephew; 
but  I  can  quite  forgive  him,  for  if  it  had  not  been  for  his 
letter  we  should  not  have  known  what  had  become  of  you, 
and  many  months  might  have  passed  before  we  might  have 
heard  from  you  in  America.  As  it  is,  only  four  or  five  days 
have  been  lost,  and  the  squire  is  writing  to-night  to  obtain 


142  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

your  discharge,  which  he  assures  me  there  will  be  no  diffi- 
culty whatever  about." 

The  squire's  was  a  very  cordial  letter,  and  he  too  in- 
closed notes  for  a  hundred  pounds. 

"  Mr.  Wilks  tells  me,"  he  said,  "  that  you  do  not  like  the 
thought  of  doctoring.  I  am  not  surprised,  and  I  think 
that  a  young  fellow  of  such  spirit  and  courage  as  you  have 
shown  ought  to  be  fitted  for  something  better  than  admin- 
istering pills  and  draughts  to  the  old  women  of  Sidmouth. 
Tell  me  frankly  when  you  write  what  you  would  like.  You 
are,  of  course,  too  old  for  the  royal  navy.  If  you  like  to  en- 
ter the  merchant  service  I  have  no  doubt  I  could  arrange 
with  some  shipping  firm  in  Bristol,  and  would  take  care 
that  by  the  time  you  get  to  be  captain  you  should  also  be 
part  owner  of  the  ship.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  would 
like  to  enter  the  army — and  it  seems  to  me  that  there  are 
stirring  times  approaching — I  think  that  through  one  or 
other  of  my  friends  in  London  I  could  obtain  a  commission 
for  you.  If  there  is  anything  else  you  would  like  better 
than  this  you  may  command  my  best  services.  I  never 
forget  how  much  I  am  indebted  to  you  for  my  present  hap- 
piness, and  whatever  I  can  do  for  you  still  shall  feel  my- 
self deeply  your  debtor." 

The  old  soldier  wrote  a  characteristic  letter.  In  the 
first  place  he  told  James  that  he  regarded  him  as  a  fool  for 
mixing  up  in  an  affair  in  which  he  had  no  concern  what- 
ever. Then  he  congratulated  him  on  the  fact  that  circum- 
stances had  broken  the  chain  from  which  he  would  never 
otherwise  have  freed  himself. 

"  You  must  not  be  angry  with  me,"  he  said,  "  for  having 
betrayed  your  confidence  and  told  the  truth  to  your  mother. 
I  did  it  in  order  to  console  her,  by  showing  her  that  things 
were  after  all  for  the  best ;  and  I  must  say  that  madam  took 
my  news  in  the  very  best  spirit,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  see 
this  by  her  letter  to  you.     There  is  no  one  I  honor  and  es* 


THE  WINNING   OF  A   CONTINENT.  143 

teem  more  than  I  do  her,  and  I  was  sure  all  along  that  you 
were  making  a  mistake  in  not  telling  her  frankly  what  your 
wishes  were.  Now  you  have  got  a  roving  commission  for 
a  time,  and  it  will  be  your  own  fault  if  you  don't  make  the 
best  of  it.  There  is  likely  to  be  an  exciting  time  in  the 
colonies,  and  you  are  not  the  lad  I  take  you  for  if  you  daw- 
dle away  your  time  in  the  towns  instead  of  seeing  what  is 
going  on  in  the  forest." 

These  letters  filled  James  with  delight,  and  without  an 
hour's  delay  he  sat  down  to  answer  them.  In  his  letter  to 
the  squire  he  thanked  him  most  warmly  for  his  kindness, 
and  said  that  above  all  things  he  should  like  a  commission 
in  the  army.  He  wrote  a  very  tender  and  affectionate  let- 
ter to  his  mother,  telling  her  how  much  he  felt  her  goodness 
in  so  promptly  relinquishing  her  own  plans  and  in  allow- 
ing him  to  choose  the  life  he  liked. 

•  "  Thank  Aggie,"  he  concluded, "  for  the  message  she  sent 
by  yon.  Give  her  my  love,  and  don't  let  her  forget  me." 
To  the  old  soldier  he  wrote  a  gossipping  account  of  his  voy- 
age. "It  was  impossible,"  he  said,  "for  the  news  of  my 
discharge  to  have  come  at  a  better  moment.  Thirty  sailors 
from  the  fleet  are  going  with  General  Braddock's  force,  and 
every  one  else  is  envying  their  good  luck — I  among  them. 
Now  I  shall  go  up  at  once  and  join  the  Virginian  regiment 
which  is  accompanying  them.  I  shall  join  that  instead  of 
either  of  the  line  regiments,  as  I  can  leave  when  I  like. 
Besides,  if  the  squire  is  able  to  get  me  a  commission,  it 
would  have  been  pleasanter  for  me  to'  have  been  fighting 
here  as  a  volunteer  than  as  a  private  in  the  line. 

"  By  the  way,  nobody  thinks  there  will  be  much  fighting, 
so  don't  let  my  mother  worry  herself  about  me;  but  at  any 
rate  a  march  through  the  great  forests  of  this  country,  with 
a  chance  of  a  brush  with  the  red-skins,  will  be  great  fun. 
Perhaps  by  the  time  it  is  over  I  may  get  a  letter  from  you 
saying  that  I  have  got  my  commission.     As  I  hear  there  is 


144  Vrpfil   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

a  chance  of  a  regular  war  between  the  French  and  us  out 
here,  the  commission  may  be  for  a  regiment  on  this  side/' 

After  finishing  his  letters  and  giving  them  to  the  ship's 
corporal  to  place  in  the  next  post-bag,  James  said  good-by 
to  his  messmates  and  prepared  to  go  on  shore.  The  ten 
men  chosen  for  the  expedition  were  also  on  the  point  of 
starting.  Richard  Horton  was  standing  near,  in  a  state  of 
great  discontent  that  he  had  not  been  chosen  to  accompany 
them  in  their  expedition.  James  Walsham  stepped  up  to 
him  and  touched  his  hat  respectfully. 

"  I  wish  to  thank  you,  Lieutenant  Horton,  for  your  ex- 
tremely kind  letter  telling  my  friends  that  I  was  on  board 
this  ship.  It  has  been  the  means  of  my  obtaining  my  dis- 
charge at  once;  instead  of  having  to  serve  for  many  months 
before  I  could  send  the  news  home  and  obtain  an  answer 
in  return." 

Without  another  word  he  turned,  and  walking  to  the 
gangway  took  his  place  in  a  boat  about  starting  with  some 
sailors  for  the  shore,  leaving  Richard  Horton  in  a  state  of 
fury  with  himself  for  having  been  the  means  of  obtaining 
James's  discharge.  He  had  already  more  than  once  i'clt 
uncomfortable  as  he  thought  of  the  wording  of  the  letter, 
and  that  this  indulgence  of  his  spite  had  had  the  effect  of 
restoring  James'  liberty  rendered  him  well-nigh  mad  with 
rage. 

On  landing  James  Walsham  at  once  disposed  of  his 
sailor's  clothes  and  purchased  a  suit  similar  to  those  worn 
by  the  colonists;  then  he  obtained  a  passage  up  the  river 
to  Alexandria,  where  the  transports  which  had  brought  the 
troops  were  still  lying.  Here  one  of  the  companies  of  the 
Virginia  corps  was  stationed,  and  James,  finding  that  they 
were  expecting  every  day  to  be  ordered  up  to  Wills  Creek, 
determined  to  join  them  at  once. 

The  scene  was  a  busy  one.  Stores  were  being  landed 
from  the  transports,  teamsters  were  loading  up  their  wagons, 


THE  WINNING  OP  A  CONTINENT.  145 

officers  were  superintending  the  operations,  the  men  of  the 
Virginia  corps,  who  wore  no  uniform,  but  were  attired  in 
the  costume  used  by  hunters  and  backwoodsmen,  namely, 
a  loose  hunting  shirt,  short  trousers  or  breeches  and  gaiters, 
were  moving  about  unconcernedly,  while  a  few  of  them, 
musket  on  shoulder,  were  on  guard  over  the  piles  of  stores. 
Presently  a  tall,  slightly-built  young  man,  with  a  pleasant 
but  resolute  face,  came  riding  along  and  checked  his  horse 
close  to  where  James  was  standing.  James  noticed  that 
the  men  on  sentry,  who  had  for  the  most  part  been  sitting 
down  on  fallen  logs  of  wood,  bales,  or  anything  else  which 
came  handy,  with  their  muskets  across  their  knees  or  lean- 
ing beside  them,  got  up  and  began  pacing  to  and  fro  with 
some  semblance  of  military  position. 

"  Who  is  that  young  man  ?  "  he  asked  a  teamster  stand- 
ing by. 

"  That  is  Colonel  Washington/'  the  man  replied,  "  one 
of  the  smartest  of  the  colonial  officers." 

"Why,  he  only  looks  two  or  three  and  twenty,"  James 
said  in  surprise. 

"  He  is  not  more  than  that,"  the  man  said ;  "  but  age 
don't  go  for  much  here,  and  Colonel  Washington  is  adju- 
tant-general of  the  Virginian  militia.  Only  a  few  months 
back  he  made  a  journey  with  dispatches  right  through  the 
forests  to  the  French  station  at  Port  de  Boeuf,  and  since 
then  he  has  been  in  command  of  the  party  which  went  out 
to  build  a  fort  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  and  had  some  sharp 
fighting  with  the  French.  A  wonderful  smart  young  officer 
they  say  he  is,  just  as  cool  when  the  bullets  are  flying  as  if 
sitting  on  horseback." 

James  resolved  at  once  that  he  would  speak  to  Colonel 
Washington  and  ask  him  if  he  could  join  the  Virginian 
militia. 

He  accordingly  went  up  to  him  and  touched  his  hat. 

"  If  you  please,  sir,  I  am  anxious  to  join  the  Virginian 
10 


146  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

militia,  and  as  they  tell  me  that  you  are  adjutant-general 
I  have  come  to  ask  you  if  I  can  do  so." 

"1  see  no  difficulty  in  it,  my  lad/'  the  colonel  said;  "but 
if  you  have  run  away  from  home  in  search  of  adventure  I 
should  advise  you  to  go  back  again,  for  we  are  likely  to- 
have  heavy  work." 

"  I  don't  mind  that,  sir,  and  I  have  not  run  away.  I  am 
English.  I  was  pressed  on  board  a  frigate  and  was  brought 
over  here,  but  my  friends  in  England  procured  my  dis- 
charge, which  came  for  me  here  a  fortnight  after  my  arri- 
val. They  are,  I  believe,  about  to  obtain  for  me  a  commis- 
sion in  a  king's  regiment;  but  as  I  was  here  I  thought  that 
I  should  like  to  see  some  service,  as  it  may  be  some  months 
before  I  hear  that  I  have  got  my  commission.  I  would 
rather,  if  I  could,  join  as  a  volunteer,  as  I  do  not  want  pay, 
my  friends  having  supplied  me  amply  with  money." 

"You  seem  to  be  a  lad  of  spirit,"  Colonel  "Washington 
said,  "  and  I  will  at  once  put  you  in  the  way  of  doing  what 
you  desire.  You  shall  join  the  Virginian  corps  as  a  volun- 
teer.    Have  you  money  enough  to  buy  a  horse  ?  " 

"  Yes,  plenty,"  Jim  said.  "I  have  two  hundred  pounds." 

"  Then  you  had  better  leave  a  hundred  and  fifty  at  least 
behind  you,"  the  colonel  said.  "I  will  direct  you  to  a 
trader  here  with  whom  you  can  bank  it.  You  can  get  an 
excellent  horse  for  twenty  pounds.  I  asked  you  because, 
if  you  like,  I  can  attach  you  to  myself.  I  often  want  a 
mounted  messenger;  and  of  course,  as  a  volunteer,  you 
would  mess  with  me." 

"  I  should  like  it  above  all  things,"  James  said  thankfully. 

"  Then  we  will  at  once  go  to  the  tent  of  the  officer  com- 
manding this  company,"  Washington  said, "  and  enroll  you 
as  a  volunteer." 

On  reaching  the  tent  Washington  dismounted  and  led 
the  way  in.  "  Captain  Hall,"  he  said,  "  this  is  a  young 
English  gentleman  wht>  will  shortly  have  a  commission  in 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  147 

the  king's  army,  but  in  the  mean  time  he  wishes  to  see  a 
little  brisk,  fighting,  so  he  is  to  be  enrolled  as  a  volunteer 
in  your  company;  but  he  is  going  to  obtain  a  horse  and 
will  act  as  a  sort  of  aide-de-camp  to  me." 

Captain  Hall  at  once  entered  James's  name  as  a  volun- 
teer on  the  roll  of  his  company. 

"  Do  you  know  of  any  one  who  has  a  good  horse  for 
sale  ?  "  Washington  asked. 

"  Yes,"  the  captain  replied,  "  at  least  there  was  a  farmer 
here  half  an  hour  ago  with  a  good-looking  horse  which  he 
wants  to  sell.     I  have  no  doubt  he  is  in  the  camp  still." 

Captain  Hall  went  to  the  door  of  the  tent  and  told  two 
of  the  men  there  to  find  the  farmer  and  tell  him  he  had  a 
purchaser  for  his  horse. 

Ten  minutes  later  the  farmer  came  up  and  James  bought 
the  horse,  Captain  Hall  doing  the  bargaining  for  him. 

"Now,"  Washington  said,  "we  will  go  round  to  the 
store-keeper  I  spoke  of  and  deposit  the  best  part  of  your 
money  with  him.  I  should  only  take  a  pound  or  two,  if  I 
were  you,  for  you  will  find  no  means  of  spending  money 
when  you  once  set  forward,  and  should  anything  happen 
fco  you  the  Indians  would  not  appreciate  the  value  of  those 
English  notes  of  yours.  You  will  want  a  brace  of  pistols 
and  a  sword,  a  blanket,  and  cooking-pot — that  is  about  the 
extent  of  your  camp  equipment." 


CHAPTEE   IX. 

THE    DEFEAT   OF    BKADDOCK. 

England  and  Erance  were  at  this  time  at  peace  in 
Europe,  although  the  troops  of  both  nations  were  about  to 
engage  in  conflict  in  the  forests  of  America.  Their  posi- 
tion there  was  an  anomalous  one.  England  owned  the 
belt  of  colonies  on  the  east  coast.  France  was  mistress  of 
Canada  in  the  north,  of  Louisiana  in  the  south,  and  more- 
over claimed  the  whole  of  the  vast  country  lying  behind 
the  British  colonies,  which  were  thus  cooped  up  on  the  sea- 
board. Her  hold,  however,  of  this  great  territory  was  ex- 
tremely slight.  She  had  strong  posts  along  the  chain  of 
lakes  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Lake  Superior,  but  between 
these  and  Louisiana  her  supremacy  was  little  more  than 
nominal. 

The  Canadian  population  were  frugal  and  hardy,  but 
they  were  deficient  in  enterprise;  and  the  priests,  who 
ruled  them  with  a  rod  of  iron — for  Canada  was  intensely 
Catholic — discouraged  any  movements  which  would  take 
their  flocks  from  under  their  charge.  Upon  the  other 
hand,  the  colonists  of  New  England,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Virginia  were  men  of  enterprise  and  energy,  and  their  trad- 
ers, pushing  in  large  numbers  across  the  Alleghanies,  carried 
on  an  extensive  trade  with  the  Indians  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio,  thereby  greatly  exciting  the  jealousy  of  the  French, 
who  feared  that  the  Indians  would  ally  themselves  with 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  149 

the  British,  colonists,  and  that  the  connection  between 
Canada  and  Louisiana  would  be  thereby  cut. 

The  English  colonists  were  greatly  superior  to  the  French 
in  number;  but  they  labored  under  the  disadvantage  that 
the  colonies  were  wholly  independent  of  each  other,  with 
strong  mutual  jealousies,  which  paralyzed  their  action  and 
prevented  their  embarking  upon  any  concerted  operations. 
Upon  the  other  hand,  Canada  was  governed  by  the  French 
as  a  military  colony.  The  governor  was  practically  abso- 
lute, and  every  man  capable  of  bearing  arms  could,  if  nec- 
essary, be  called  by  him  into  the  field.  He  had  at  his  dis- 
posal not  only  the  wealth  of  the  colony,  but  large  assistance 
from  France,  and  the  French  agents  were  therefore  able 
to  outbid  the  agents  of  the  British  colonies  with  the  Indians. 

For  years  there  had  been  occasional  troubles  between  the 
New  England  States  and  the  French,  the  latter  employing 
the  Indians  in  harassing  the  border;  but  until  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  there  had  been  nothing  like  a 
general  trouble.  In  1749  the  Marquis  of  Galissoniere  was 
governor-general  of  Canada;  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle 
had  been  signed;  but  this  had  done  nothing  to  settle  the 
vexed  question  of  the  boundaries  between  the  English  and 
French  colonies.  Meanwhile  the  English  traders  from 
Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia  were  poaching  on  the  domain 
which  France  claimed  as  hers,  ruining  the  French  fur  trade, 
and  making  friends  with  the  Indian  allies  of  Canada. 
Worse  still,  farmers  were  pushing  westward  and  settling 
in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 

In  order  to  drive  these  back,  to  impress  the  natives  with 
the  power  of  France,  and  to  bring  them  back  to  their  alle- 
giance, the  governor  of  Canada  in  the  summer  of  1749  sent 
Celoron  de  Bienville.  He  had  with  him  fourteen  officers, 
twenty  French  soldiers,  a  hundred  and  eighty  Canadians, 
and  a  band  of  Indians.  They  embarked  in  twenty-three 
birch-bark  canoes,  and  pushing  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  reached 


150  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

Lake  Ontario,  stopping  for  a  time  at  the  French  fort  of 
Frontenac,  and  avoiding  the  rival  English  port  of  Oswego 
on  the  southern  shore,  where  a  trade  in  beaver  skins  disas- 
trous to  French  interests  was  being  carried  on,  for  the  Eng- 
lish traders  sold  their  goods  at  vastly  lower  prices  than 
those  which  the  French  had  charged. 

On  the  6th  of  July  the  party  reached  Niagara,  where 
there  was  a  small  French  fort,  and  thence,  carrying  their 
canoes  round  the  cataract,  launched  them  upon  Lake  Erie. 
Landing  again  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  lake,  they  car- 
ried their  canoes  nine  miles  through  the  forest  to  Chautau- 
qua Lake,  and  then  dropped  down  the  stream  running  out 
of  it  until  they  reached  the  Ohio.  The  fertile  country  here 
was  inhabited  by  the  Delawares,  Shawanoes,  Wyandots,  and 
Iroquois,  or  Indians  of  the  Five  Nations,  who  had  migrated 
thither  from  their  original  territories  in  the  colony  of  New 
York.  Further  west,  on  the  banks  of  the  Miami,  the  Wa- 
bash, and  other  streams,  was  a  confederacy  of  the  Miamis 
and  their  kindred  tribes;  still  further  west  in  the  country 
of  the  Illinois,  near  the  Mississippi,  the  French  had  a  strong 
stone  fort  called  Fort  Ohartres,  which  formed  one  of  the 
chief  links  of  the  chain  of  posts  that  connected  Quebec  with 
New  Orleans. 

The  French  missionaries  and  the  French  political  agents 
had  for  seventy  years  labored  hard  to  bring  these  Indian 
tribes  into  close  connection  with  France.  The  missionaries 
had  failed  signally;  but  the  presents  so  lavishly  bestowed 
had  inclined  the  tribes  to  the  side  of  their  donors,  until  the 
English  traders  with  their  cheap  goods  came  pushing  west 
over  the  Alleghanies.  They  carried  their  goods  on  the  backs 
of  horses,  and  journeyed  from  village  to  village,  selling 
powder,  rum,  calicoes,  beads,  and  trinkets.  No  less  than 
three  hundred  men  were  engaged  in  these  enterprises,  and 
some  of  them  pushed  as  far  west  as  the  Mississippi. 

As  the  party  of  Celoron  proceeded  they  nailed  plates  of 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  151 

tin  stamped  with  the  arms  of  France  to  trees,  and  buried 
plates  of  lead  near  them  with  inscriptions,  saying  that  they 
took  possession  of  the  land  in  the  name  of  Louis  XV.,  King 
of  France.  Many  of  the  villages  were  found  to  he  deserted 
by  the  natives,  who  fled  at  their  approach.  At  some,  how- 
ever, they  found  English  traders,  who  were  warned  at  once 
to  leave  the  country,  and  by  some  of  them  letters  were  sent 
to  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  in  which  Celoron  declared 
that  he  was  greatly  surprised  to  find  Englishmen  trespass- 
ing in  the  domain  of  France,  and  that  his  orders  were  pre- 
cise, to  leave  no  foreign  traders  within  the  limits  of  the 
government  of  Canada. 

At  Chiningue,  called  Logstown  by  the  English,  a  large 
number  of  natives  were  gathered,  most  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  deserted  villages  having  sought  refuge  there.  The 
French  were  received  with  a  volley  of  balls  from  the  shore; 
but  they  landed  without  replying  to  the  fire,  and  hostilities 
were  avoided.  The  French  kept  guard  all  night,  and  in 
the  morning  Celoron  invited  the  chiefs  to  a  council,  when 
he  told  them  he  had  come  by  the  order  of  the  governor  to 
open  their  eyes  to  the  designs  of  the  English  against  their 
lands,  and  that  they  must  be  driven  away  at  once.  The 
reply  of  the  chiefs  was  humble;  but  they  begged  that  the 
English  traders,  of  whom  there  were  at  that  moment  ten 
in  the  town,  might  stay  a  little  longer,  since  the  goods 
they  brought  were  necessary  to  them. 

After  making  presents  to  the  chiefs  the  party  proceeded 
on  their  way,  putting  up  the  coats  of  arms  and  burying  the 
lead  inscriptions.  At  Scioto  a  large  number  of  Indians 
were  assembled,  and  the  French  were  very  apprehensive  of 
an  attack,  which  would  doubtless  have  been  disastrous  to 
them,  as  the  Canadians  of  the  party  were  altogether  unused 
to  war.  A  council  was  held,  however,  at  which  Celoron 
could  obtain  no  satisfaction  whatever,  for  the  interests  of 
the  Indians  were  bound  up  with  the  English. 


152  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA1.   OR, 

There  can  be  no  donbt  that  bad  they  been  able  to  look 
into  the  future  every  Indian  on  the  continent  would  have 
joined  the  French  in  their  effort  to  crush  the  English  col- 
onies. Had  France  remained  master  of  America  the  Indians 
might  even  now  be  roaming  free  and  unmolested  on  the 
lands  of  their  forefathers.  France  is  not  a  colonizing  na- 
tion; she  would  have  traded  with  the  Indians,  would  have 
endeavored  to  Christianize  them,  and  would  have  left  them 
their  land  and  freedom,  well  satisfied  with  the  fact  that  the 
flag  of  France  should  wave  over  so  vast  an  extent  of  coun- 
try; but  on  England  conquering  the  soil,  her  armies  of 
emigrants  pressed  west,  and  the  red  man  is  fast  becoming 
extinct  on  the  continent  of  which  he  was  once  the  lord. 

Celoron's  expedition  sailed  down  the  Ohio  until  it 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  and  toiled  for  thirteen 
days  against  its  shallow  current  until  they  reached  a  village 
of  the  Miami  Indians,  ruled  over  by  a  chief  called  by  the 
French  La  Demoiselle,  but  whom  the  English,  whose  fast 
friend  he  was,  called  Old  Britain.  He  was  the  great  chief 
of  the  Miami  confederation.  The  English  traders  there 
withdrew  at  the  approach  of  the  French.  The  usual  coun- 
cil was  held,  and  Celoron  urged  the  chief  to  remove  from 
this  location,  which  he  had  but  newly  adopted,  and  to  take 
up  his  abode  with  his  band  near  the  French  fort  on  the 
Maumee.  The  chief  accepted  the  Frenchman's  gifts, 
thanked  him  for  his  good  advice,  and  promised  to  follow  it 
at  a  more  convenient  time;  but  neither  promises  nor 
threats  could  induce  him  to  stir  at  once. 

ISTo  sooner,  indeed,  had  the  French  departed  than  the 
chief  gathered  the  greater  part  of  the  members  of  the  con- 
federation on  that  spot,  until,  in  less  than  two  years  after 
the  visit  of  Celoron,  its  population  had  increased  eightfold, 
and  it  became  one  of  the  greatest  Indian  towns  of  the  west 
and  the  centre  of  English  trade  and  influence.  Celoron 
reached  Miami,  and  then  returned  northward  to  Lake  Erie, 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  153 

and  thence  back  to  Montreal,  when  he  reported  to  the  gov- 
ernor that  English  influence  was  supreme  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ohio. 

In  the  following  year  a  company  was  formed  in  Virginia 
for  effecting  a  settlement  in  Ohio,  and  a  party  proceeded 
west  to  the  village  of  the  chief  called  Old  Britain,  by  whom 
they  vere  received  with  great  friendship,  and  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  solemnly  made  between  the  English  and  the  In- 
dians. While  the  festivities  consequent  on  the  affair  were 
going  on,  four  Ottawa  Indians  arrived  from  the  French 
with  the  French  flag  and  gifts,  but  they  were  dismissed  with 
an  answer  of  defiance.  If  at  this  time  the  colonists  could 
have  cemented  their  alliance  with  the  Indians  with  gifts 
similar  to  those  with  which  the  French  endeavored  to  pur- 
chase their  friendship,  a  permanent  peace  with  the  Indians 
might  have  been  established,  but  the  mutual  jealousies  of 
the  colonics  and  the  nature  of  the  various  colonial  assem- 
blies rendered  any  common  action  impossible.  Pennsylva- 
nia was  jealous  of  the  westward  advance  of  Virginia,  and 
desired  to  thwart  rather  than  to  assist  her. 

The  governors  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia 
were  fully  conscious  of  the  importance  of  the  Indian  alli- 
ance, but  they  could  do  nothing  without  their  assemblies. 
Those  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  were  largely  com- 
posed of  tradesmen  and  farmers  absorbed  in  local  interests, 
and  animated  but  by  two  motives,  the  cutting  down  of  all 
expenditure  and  bitter  and  continuous  opposition  to  the 
governor  who  represented  the  royal  authority.  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania  quarrelled  about  their  respective  rights 
over  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  The  assembly  of  New  York 
refused  to  join  in  any  common  action,  saying,  "  We  will 
take  care  of  our  Indians  and  they  may  take  care  of  theirs." 
The  States  further  removed  from  the  fear  of  any  danger 
from  the  action  of  the  Indians  and  French  were  altogether 
lukewarm. 


154  WITH    WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

Thus  neither  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  nor  on  the  boun- 
daries of  the  New  England  States  did  the  Indians  receive 
their  promised  gifts,  and  as  the  French  agents  were  liberal 
both  in  presents  and  promises,  the  Indians  became  discon- 
tented with  their  new  friends  and  again  turned  their  eyes 
toward  France.  Old  Britain,  however,  remained  firm  in 
his  alliance,  and  the  English  traders,  by  constant  presents 
and  by  selling  their  goods  at  the  lowest  possible  rates,  kept 
him  and  his  warriors  highly  satisfied  and  contented. 

The  French  in  vain  tried  to  stir  up  the  friendly  tribes  to 
attack  Oswego,  on  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  village  of  Old  Brit- 
ain, which  were  the  two  centres  to  which  the  Indians  went 
to  trade  with  the  English,  but  they  were  unsuccessful 
until,  in  June,  1752,  Charles  Langlade,  a  young  French 
trader  married  to  a  squaw  at  Green  Bay,  and  strong  in 
influence  with  the  tribes  of  that  region,  came  down  the 
lakes  with  a  fleet  of  canoes  manned  by  two  hundred  and 
fifty  Ottawa  and  Ojibwa  warriors.  They  stopped  a  while 
at  the  fort  at  Detroit,  then  paddled  up  "the  Maumee  to  the 
next  fort,  and  thence  marched  through  the  forests  against 
the  Miamis. 

They  approached  Old  Britain's  village  in  the  morning. 
Most  of  the  Indians  were  away  on  their  summer  hunt,  and 
there  were  but  eight  English  traders  in  the  place.  Three 
of  these  were  caught  outside  the  village;  the  remaining  five 
took  refuge  in  the  fortified  warehouse  they  had  built,  and 
there  defended  themselves. 

Old  Britain  and  the  little  band  with  him  fought  bravely, 
but  against  such  overwhelming  numbers  could  do  nothing, 
and  fourteen  of  them,  including  their  chief,  were  killed. 
The  five  white  men  defended  themselves  till  the  afternoon, 
when  two  of  them  managed  to  make  their  escape,  and  the 
other  three  surrendered.  One  of  them  was  already  wounded, 
and  was  at  once  killed  by  the  French  Indians.  Seventy 
years  of  the  teaching  of  the  French  missionaries  had  not 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  155 

weaned  the  latter  from  cannibalism,  and  Old  Britain  was 
boiled  and  eaten. 

The  Marquis  of  Duquesne,  who  had  succeeded  G-alisso- 
niere  as  governor,  highly  praised  Langlade  for  the  enter- 
prise, and  recommended  him  to  the  minister  at  home  for 
reward.  This  bold  enterprise  further  shook  the  alliance 
of  the  Indians  with  the  English,  for  it  seemed  to  them  that 
the  French  were  enterprising  and  energetic,  while  the  Eng- 
lish were  slothful  and  cowardly  and  neglected  to  keep  their 
agreements.  The  French  continued  to  build  forts,  and 
Dinwiddie,  governor  of  Virginia,  sent  George  Washington 
to  protest  in  his  name  against  their  building  forts  on  land 
notoriously  belonging  to  the  English  crown. 

Washington  performed  the  long  and  toilsome  journey 
through  the  forests  at  no  slight  risks,  and  delivered  his 
message  at  the  forts,  but  nothing  came  of  it.  The  governor 
of  Virginia,  seeing  the  approaching  danger,  made  the  great- 
est efforts  to  induce  the  other  colonies  to  join  in  common 
action ;  but  North  Carolina  alone  answered  the  appeal,  and 
gave  money  enough  to  raise  three  or  four  hundred  men. 
Two  independent  companies  maintained  by  England  in 
New  York,  and  one  in  South  Carolina,  received  orders  to 
march  to  Virginia.  The  governor  had  raised  with  great 
difficulty  three  hundred  men.  They  were  called  the  Vir- 
ginia Regiment.  An  English  gentleman  named  Joshua 
Fry  was  appointed  the  colonel  and  Washington  their 
major. 

Fry  was  at  Alexandria,  on  the  Potomac,  with  half  the  regi- 
ment. Washington  with  the  other  half  had  pushed  for- 
ward to  the  store-house  at  Wills  Creek,  which  was  to  form 
the  base  of  operations.  Besides  these  Captain  Trent  with 
a  band  of  backwoodsmen  had  crossed  the  mountain  to  build 
a  fort  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  where  Pittsburg  now 
stands.  Trent  had  gone  back  to  Wills  Creek,  leaving  En- 
sign Ward  with  forty  men  at  work  upon  the  fort,  when,  on 


156  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OK, 

the  17th  of  April,  a  swarm  of  canoes  came  down  the  Al- 
leghany with  over  five  hundred  Frenchmen,  who  planted 
cannon  against  the  unfinished  stockade  and  summoned  the 
ensign  to  surrender;  he  had  no  recourse  but  to  submit,  and 
was  allowed  to  depart  with  his  men  across  the  mountains. 

The  French  at  once  set  to  to  build  a  strong  fort,  which 
they  named  Fort  Duquesne.  While  the  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia had  been  toiling  in  vain  to  get  the  colonists  to  move, 
the  French  had  acted  promptly,  and  the  erection  of  their 
new  fort  at  once  covered  their  line  of  communication  to 
the  west,  barred  the  advance  of  the  English  down  the  Ohio 
valley,  and  secured  the  allegiance  of  all  the  wavering  In- 
dian tribes. 

Although  war  had  not  yet  been  declared  between  Eng- 
land and  France,  the  colonists,  after  this  seizure  by  French 
soldiers  of  a  fort  over  which  the  English  flag  was  flying, 
henceforth  acted  as  if  the  two  powers  were  at  war.  Wash- 
ington moved  forward  from  Wills  Creek  with  his  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  and  surprised  a  French  force  which  had 
gone  out  scouting. 

Several  of  the  French  were  killed,  and  the  commander 
of  Fort  Duquesne  sent  dispatches  to  France  to  say  that  he 
had  sent  this  party  out  with  a  communication  to  Washing- 
ton, and  that  they  had  been  treacherously  assassinated. 
This  obscure  skirmish  was  the  commencement  of  a  war 
which  set  two  continents  on  fire.  Colonel  Fry  died  a  few 
days  after  this  fight,  and  Washington  succeeded  to  the 
command  of  the  regiment,  and  collected  his  three  hundred 
men  at  Green  Meadow,  where  he  was  joined  by  a  few  In- 
dians and  by  a  company  from  South  Carolina. 

The  French  at  Duquesne  were  quickly  reinforced,  and 
the  command  was  given  to  Coulon  de  Villiers,  the  brother 
of  an  officer  who  had  been  killed  in  the  skirmish  with 
Washington.  He  at  once  advanced  against  the  English, 
who  had  fallen  back  to  a  rough  breastwork  which  they 


THE   WINNING  O^  A  CONTINENT.  157 

called  Fort  Necessity,  Washington  having  but  four  hundred 
men  against  five  hundred  French  and  as  many  Indians. 

For  nine  hours  the  French  kept  up  a  hot  fire  on  the  in- 
trenchment  but  without  success,  and  at  nightfall  Villiers 
proposed  a  parley.  The  French  ammunition  was  running 
short,  the  men  were  fatigued  by  their  marches  and  drenched 
by  the  rain  which  had  been  falling  the  whole  day.  The 
English  were  in  a  still  worse  plight;  their  powder  was 
nearly  spent,  their  guns  were  foul?  cmd  among  them  they 
had  but  two  cleaning-rods. 

After  a  parley  it  was  agreed  that  the  English  should 
march  off  with  drums  beating  and  the  honors  of  war,  carry- 
ing with  them  all  their  property ;  that  the  prisoners  taken 
in  the  previous  affair  should  be  set  free,  two  officers  re- 
maining with  the  French  as  hostages  until  they  were  handed 
over.  Washington  and  his  men  arrived  utterly  worn  out 
with  fatigue  and  famine  at  Wills  Creek.  This  action  left 
the  French  masters  of  the  whole  country  beyond  the  Al- 
leghanies.  The  two  mother  nations  were  now  preparing 
for  war,  and  in  the  middle  of  January,  1755,  Major-Gen- 
eral Braddock,  with  the  44th  and  48th  Eegiments,  each  five 
hundred  strong,  sailed  from  Cork  for  Virginia,  while  the 
French  sent  eighteen  ships  of  war  and  six  battalions  to 
Canada.  Admiral  Boscawen,  with  eleven  ships  of  the  line 
and  one  frigate,  set  out  to  intercept  the  French  expedition. 
The  greater  part  of  the  fleet  evaded  him,  but  he  came  up 
with  three  of  the  French  men-of-war,  opened  fire  upon  them 
and  captured  them.  Up  to  this  time  a  pretence  of  nego- 
tiations had  been  maintained  between  England  and  France, 
but  the  capture  of  the  French  ships  brought  the  negotia- 
tions to  a  sudden  end,  and  the  war  began. 

A  worse  selection;  than  that  of  Major-General  Braddock 
could  hardly  have  been  made;  he  was  a  brave  officer  and  a 
good  soldier,  but  he  was  rough,  coarse,  and  obstinate;  he 
utterly  despised    the   colonial   troops,   and   regarded  all 


158  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

methods  of  fighting  save  those  pursued  by  regular  armies 
in  the  field  with  absolute  contempt.  To  send  such  a  man 
to  command  troops  destined  to  fight  in  thick  forests 
against  an  enemy  skilled  in  warfare  of  that  kind  was  to 
court  defeat. 

As  might  be  expected,  Braddock  was  very  soon  on  the 
worst  possible  terms  with  the  whole  of  the  colonial  authori- 
ties, and  the  delays  caused  by  the  indecision  or  obstinacy 
of  the  colonial  assemblies  chafed  him  to  madness.  At  last, 
however,  his  force  was  assembled  at  Wills  Creek.  The  two 
English  regiments  had  been  raised  by  enlistment  in  Vir- 
ginia to  700  men  each.  There  were  nine  Virginian  com- 
panies of  fifty  men  and  the  thirty  sailors  lent  by  Commo- 
dore Keppel.  General  Braddock  had  three  aides-de-camp 
■ — Captain  Robert  Orme,  Captain  Roger  Morris,  and  Colonel 
George  Washington. 

It  was  the  1st  of  June  when  James  Walsham  rode  with 
Colonel  Washington  into  the  camp,  and  three  days  later 
the  last  companies  of  the  Virginian  corps  marched  in. 
During  the  next  week  some  of  the  English  officers  at- 
tempted to  drill  the  Virginians  in  the  manner  of  English 
troops. 

"It  is  a  waste  of  time,"  Colonel  Washington  said  to 
James  one  day  when  he  was  watching  them,  "  and  worse. 
These  men  can  fight  their  own  way,  most  of  them  are  good 
shots  and  have  a  fair  idea  of  forest-fighting;  let  them  go 
their  own  way  and  they  can  be  trusted  to  hold  their  own 
against  at  least  an  equal  number  of  French  and  Indians, 
but  they  would  be  hopelessly  at  sea  if  they  were  called 
upon  to  fight  like  English  regulars.  Most  likely  the  ene- 
my will  attack  us  in  the  forest,  and  what  good  will  form- 
ing in  line,  or  wheeling  on  a  flank,  or  any  of  the  things 
which  the  general  is  trying  to  drum  into  their  heads  do  to 
them  ?  If  the  French  are  foolish  enough  to  wait  at  Fort 
Duquesne  until  we  arrive,  I  have  no  doubt  we  shall  beat 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  159 

them,  but  if  they  attack  us  in  the  woods  it  will  go  hard 
with  us." 

During  the  ten  days  which  elapsed  between  his  arrival 
and'  the  start  James  was  kept  hard  at  work,  being  for  the 
most  part  employed  galloping  up  and  down  the  road  urg- 
ing up  the  wagoners,  and  bringing  back  reports  as  to  their 
position  and  progress.  On  the  10th  of  June  the  army 
started;  300  axe-men  led  the  way,  cutting  and  clearing  the 
road,  the  long  train  of  pack-horses,  wagons,  and  cannon 
followed;  the  troops  marched  in  the  forest  on  either  side, 
while  men  were  thrown  out  on  the  flanks  and  scouts  ranged 
the  woods  to  guard  against  surprise. 

The  road  was  cut  but  twelve  feet  wide,  and  the  line  of 
march  often  extended  four  miles.  Thus  day  by  day  they 
toiled  on,  crossing  the  Alleg;:any  Mountains,  range  after 
range,  now  plunging  down  into  a  ravine,  now  ascending  a 
ridge,  but  always  in  the  deep  shadow  of  the  forest.  A  few 
of  the  enemy  hovered  round  them,  occasionally  killing  a 
straggler  who  fell  behind.  On  the  18th  of  June  the  army 
reached  a  place  called  the  Little  Meadows.  So  weak  were 
the  horses  from  want  of  forage  that  the  last  marches  had 
been  but  three  miles  a  day,  and  upon  Washington's  advice 
Braddock  determined  to  leave  the  heavy  baggage  here  with 
the  sick  men  and  a  strong  guard  under  Colonel  Dunbar 
while  he  advanced  with  1,200  men,  besides  officers  and 
drivers.  But  the  progress  was  still  no  more  than  three 
miles  a  day,  and  it  was  not  until  the  7th  of  July  that  they 
arrived  within  eight  miles  of  the  French  fort. 

Between  them  lay,  however,  an  extremely  difficult  coun- 
try with  a  narrow  defile,  and  Braddock  determined  to  ford 
the  Monongahela  and  then  cross  it  again  lower  down.  The 
garrison  of  Fort  Duquesne  consisted  of  a  few  companies  of 
regular  troops,  some  hundreds  of  Canadians,  and  800  In- 
dian warriors.  They  were  kept  informed  by  the  scouts  of 
the  progress  of  the  English,  and  when  the  latter  approached 


160  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

the  Monongahela  a  party  under  Captain  Beaujeu  set  out  to 
meet  them.  His  force  consisted  of  637  Indians,  100  French 
officers  and  soldiers,  and  146  Canadians,  in  all  about  900 
men.  At  one  o'clock  in  the  day  Braddock  crossed  the  Mo- 
nongahela for  the  second  time;  the  troops  had  all  the  day 
been  expecting  the  attack  and  had  prepared  for  it.  At  the 
second  ford  the  army  marched  in  martial  order  with  music 
playing  and  flags  flying.  Once  across  the  river,  they  halted 
for  a  short  time  and  then  again  continued  their  advance. 

Braddock  made  every  disposition  for  preventing  a  sur- 
prise. Several  guides  with  six  Virginian  light  horsemen 
led  the  way,  then  came  the  advanced  column  consisting  of 
300  soldiers  under  Gage,  and  a  large  body  of  axe-men  un- 
der Sir  John  Sinclair  with  two  cannon.  The  main  body 
followed  close  behind.  The  artillery  and  wagons  moved 
along  the  road,  the  troops  marched  through  the  woods  on 
either  hand,  numerous  flanking  parties  were  thrown  out  a 
hundred  yards  or  more  right  and  left,  and  in  the  space  be- 
tween them  and  the  line  of  troops  the  pack-horses  and  cattle 
made  their  way  as  they  best  could  among  the  trees.  Beau- 
jeu had  intended  to  place  his  men  in  ambuscade  at  the 
ford,  but  owing  to  various  delays  caused  by  the  Indians 
he  was  still  a  mile  away  from  the  ford  when  the  British 
crossed.  He  was  marching  forward  when  he  came  suddenly 
upon  the  little  party  of  guides  and  Virginian  light  horse- 
men. These  at  once  fell  back,  the  Indians  raised  their 
war-whoop,  and  spreading  right  and  left  among  the  trees 
opened  a  sharp  fire  upon  the  British. 

Gage's  column  wheeled  deliberately  into  line  and  fired 
volley  after  volley  with  great  steadiness  at  the  invisible  op- 
ponents. The  greater  part  of  the  Canadians  bolted  at  once, 
but  the  Indians  kept  up  their  fire  from  behind  the  shelter 
of  the  trees.  Gage  brought  up  his  two  cannon  and  opened 
fire,  and  the  Indians,  who  had  a  horror  of  artillery,  began 
also  to  fall  back.     The  English  advanced  in  regular  lines, 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  161 

cheering  loudly.  Beaujeu  fell  dead;  but  Captain  Dumas, 
who  succeeded  him  in  command,  advanced  at  the  head  of 
his  small  party  of  French  soldiers  and  opened  a  heavy  fire. 

The  Indians,  encouraged  by  the  example,  rallied  and 
again  came  forward,  and  while  the  French  regulars  and 
the  few  Canadians  who  had  not  fled  held  the  ground  in 
front  of  the  column,  the  Indians  swarmed  through  the  for- 
ests along  both  flanks  of  the  English,  and  from  behind 
trees,  bushes,  and  rocks  opened  a  withering  fire  upon  them. 
The  troops,  bewildered  and  amazed  by  the  fire  poured  into 
them  by  an  invisible  foe  and  by  the  wild  war-whoops  of 
the  Indians,  ceased  to  advance,  and  standing  close  together 
poured  fruitlessly  volley  after  volley  into  the  surrounding 
forest. 

On  hearing  the  firing,  Braddock,  leaving  400  men  in  the 
rear  under  Sir  Peter  Halket  to  guard  the  baggage,  ad- 
vanced with  the  main  body  to  support  Gage;  but  just  as 
he  came  up  the  soldiers,  appalled  by  the  fire  which  was 
mowing  them  down  in  scores,  abandoned  their  cannon  and 
fell  back  in  confusion.  This  threw  the  advancing  force 
into  disorder,  and  the  two  regiments  became  mixed  to- 
gether, massed  in  several  dense  bodies  within  a  small  space 
of  ground,  facing  some  oneway  and  some  another,  all  alike 
exposed  without  shelter  to  the  hail  of  bullets.  Men  and 
officers  were  alike  new  to  warfare  like  this;  they  had  been 
taught  to  fight  in  line  against  solid  masses  of  the  enemy, 
and  against  an  invisible  foe  like  the  present  they  were  help- 
less. The  Virginians  alone  were  equal  to  the  emergency. 
They  at  once  adopted  their  familiar  forest  tactics,  and  tak- 
ing their  post  behind  trees  began  to  fight  the  Indians  in 
their  own  way. 

Had  Braddock  been  a  man  of  judgment  and  temper  the 
fortunes  of  the  day  might  yet  have  been  retrieved,  for  the 
Virginians  could  have  checked  the  Indians  until  the  Eng- 
lish troops  were  rallied  and  prepared  to  meet  the  difficulty; 
ii 


162  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

but  to  Braddock  the  idea  of  men  fighting  behind  trees  was 
at  once  cowardly  and  opposed  to  all  military  discipline, 
and  he  dashed  forward  on  his  horse  and  with  fierce  oaths 
ordered  the  Virginians  to  form  line.  A  body  of  them, 
however,  under  Captain  Waggoner,  made  a  dash  for  a  huge 
fallen  tree  far  out  toward  the  lurking-places  of  the  In- 
dians, and  crouching  behind  it  opened  fire  upon  them;  but 
the  regulars  seeing  the  smoke  among  the  bushes  took  them 
for  the  enemy,  and  firing  killed  many  and  forced  the  rest 
to  return. 

A  few  of  the  soldiers  tried  to  imitate  the  Indians  and 
fight  behind  the  trees,  but  Braddock  beat  them  back  with 
the  flat  of  his  sword  and  forced  them  to  stand  with  the 
others,  who  were  now  huddled  in  a  mass  forming  a  target 
for  the  enemy's  bullets.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Burton  led 
100  of  them  toward  a  knoll  from  which  the  puffs  came 
thickest,  but  he  fell  wounded,  and  his  men,  on  whom  the 
enemy  instantly  concentrated  their  fire,  fell  back.  The 
soldiers,  powerless  against  the  unseen  foe — for  afterward 
some  of  the  officers  and  men  who  escaped  declared  that 
throughout  the  whole  fight  they  had  not  seen  a  single 
Indian — discharged  their  guns  aimlessly  among  the  trees. 

They  were  half  stupefied  now  with  the  terror  and  con- 
fusion of  the  scene,  the  rain  of  bullets,  the  wild  yells  which 
burst  ceaselessly  from  their  GOO  savage  foemen;  while 
the  horses,  wild  with  terror  and  wounds,  added  to  the  con- 
fusion by  dashing  madly  hither  and  thither.  Braddock 
behaved  with  furious  intrepidity;  he  dashed  hither  and 
thither  shouting  and  storming  at  the  men  and  striving  to 
get  them  in  order  and  to  lead  them  to  attack  the  enemj'. 
Four  horses  were  one  after  the  other  shot  under  him;  his 
officers  behaved  with  equal  courage  and  self-devotion,  and 
in  vain  attempted  to  lead  on  the  men,  sometimes  advanc- 
ing in  parties  toward  the  Indian  in  hopes  that  the  soldiers 
would  follow  their;.     Rir  Peter  Halket  was  killed;  Home 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  163 

snd  Morris  the  two  aides-de-camp,  Sinclair  the  quarter- 
master-general, Gates,  Gage,  and  Gladwin  were  wounded. 
Of  86  officers  63  were  killed  or  disabled,  while  of  1,373  non- 
commissioned officers  and  privates  only  459  came  off  un- 
harmed. 

James  Walsham  had  been  riding  by  the  side  of  Washing- 
ton when  the  fight  began,  and  followed  him  closely  as  he 
galloped  among  the  troops  trying  to  rally  and  lead  them 
forward.  Washington's  horse  was  pierced  by  a  ball  and, 
staggering,  fell.  James  leaped  from  his  horse  and  gave  it 
to  the  colonel,  and  then,  seeing  that  there  was  nothing  for 
him  to  do,  withdrew  a  short  distance  from  the  crowd  of 
soldiers  and  crouched  down  between  the  trunks  of  two 
great  trees  growing  close  to  each  other,  one  of  which  pro- 
tected him  for  the  most  part  from  the  fire  of  the  Indians 
and  the  other  from  the  not  less  dangerous  fire  of  the  Eng- 
lish. 

Presently,  seeing  a  soldier  fall  at  a  short  distance  from 
him,  he  ran  out  and  picked  up  his  musket  and  cartridge- 
box  and  began  to  fire  at  the  bushes  where  the  puffs  of 
smoke  showed  that  men  were  in  hiding.  After  three 
hours'  passive  endurance  of  this  terrible  fire,  Braddock, 
seeing  that  all  was  lost,  commanded  a  retreat,  and  he  and 
such  officers  as  were  left  strove  to  draw  off  the  soldiers  in 
some  semblance  of  order;  but  at  this  moment  a  bullet 
struck  him,  and  passing  through  his  arm  penetrated  his 
lungs,  and  he  fell  from  his  horse.  He  demanded  to  be  left 
where  he  lay,  but  Captain  Stewart,  of  the  Virginians,  and 
one  of  his  men  bore  him  between  them  to  the  rear. 

The  soldiers  had  now  spent  all  their  ammunition,  and, 
no  longer  kept  in  their  places  by  their  general,  broke  away 
in  a  wild  panic.  Washington's  second  horse  had  now  been 
shot,  and  as,  trying  to  check  the  men,  he  passed  the  trees 
where  James  had  taken  up  his  position,  the  "latter  joined 
him.     In  vain  Washington  and  his  other  officers  tried  to 


164  WITH  WOLFE  IIS    CANADA. 

rally  the  men  at  the  ford.  They  dashed  across  it,  wild  with 
fear,  leaving  their  wounded  comrades,  cannon,  baggage, 
and  military  chest  a  prey  to  the  Indians. 

Fortunately  only  about  fifty  of  the  Indians  followed  as 
far  as  the  ford,  the  rest  being  occupied  in  killing  the 
wounded  and  scalping  the  dead.  Dumas,  who  had  now  but 
twenty  Frenchmen  left,  fell  back  to  the  fort,  and  the  rem- 
nants of  Braddock's  force  continued  the  flight  unmolested. 


CHAPTEE  X. 


THE    FIGHT   AT   LAKE    GEORGE. 


Fortunate  was  it  for  the  remnant  of  Braddock's  force 
that  the  Indians  were  too  much  occupied  in  gathering  the 
abundant  harvest  of  scalps,  too  anxious  to  return  to  the 
fort  to  exhibit  these  trophies  of  their  bravery,  to  press  on 
in  pursuit;  for  had  they  done  so  few  indeed  of  the  panic- 
stricken  fugitives  would  ever  have  lived  to  tell  the  tale. 
All  night  these  continued  their  flight,  expecting  every  mo- 
ment to  hear  the  dreaded  war-whoop  burst  out  again  in 
the  woods  round  them. 

Colonel  Washington  had  been  ordered  by  the  dying  gen- 
eral to  press  on  on  horseback  to  the  camp  of  Dunbar,  and  to 
tell  him  to  forward  wagons,  provisions,  and  ammunition; 
but  the  panic  which  had  seized  the  main  force  had  already 
been  spread  by  flying  teamsters  to  Dunbar's  camp;  many 
soldiers  and  wagoners  at  once  took  flight,  and  the  panic 
was  heightened  when  the  remnants  of  Braddock's  force 
arrived.  There  was  no  reason  to  suppose  that  they  were 
pursued,  and  even  had  they  been  so  their  force  was  ample 
to  repel  any  attack  that  could  be  made  upon  it;  but  proba- 
bly their  commander  saw  that  in  their  present  state  of 
utter  demoralization  they  could  not  be  trusted  to  fight,  and 
that  the  first  Indian  war-whoop  would  start  them  again  in 
flight.  Still  it  was  clear  that  a  retreat  would  leave  the 
whole  border  open  to  the  ravages  of  the  Indians,  and  Col- 
onel Dunbar  was  greatly  blamed  for  the  course  he  took. 


166  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

A  hundred  wagons  were  burned,  the  cannon  and  shells 
burst,  and  the  barrels  of  powder  emptied  into  the  stream, 
the  stores  of  provisions  scattered  through  the  woods,  and 
then  the  force  began  its  retreat  over  the  mountains  to  Fort 
Cumberland,  sixty  miles  away.  General  Braddock  died  the 
day  that  the  retreat  began;  his  last  words  were,  "We  shall 
know  better  how  to  deal  with  them  next  time."'  The  news 
of  the  disaster  came  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  the  colonists; 
success  had  been  regarded  as  certain,  and  the  news  that 
some  fourteen  hundred  English  troops  had  been  utterly 
routed  by  a  body  of  French  and  Indians  of  half  their 
strength  seemed  almost  incredible.  The  only  consolation 
was  that  the  hundred  and  fifty  Virginians  who  had  accom- 
panied the  regulars  had  all,  as  was  acknowledged  by  the 
English  officers  themselves,  fought  with  the  greatest  brav- 
ery, and  had  kept  their  coolness  and  presence  of  mind  till 
the  last,  and  that  on  them  no  shadow  of  the  discredit  of  the 
affair  rested.  Indeed,  it  was  said  that  the  greatest  part 
were  killed  not  by  the  fire  of  the  Indians,  but  by  that  of 
the  troops,  who,  standing  in  masses,  fired  in  all  directions, 
regardless  of  what  was  in  front  of  them. 

But  Colonel  Dunbar,  not  satisfied  with  retreating  to  the 
safe  shelter  of  Fort  Cumberland,  to  the  amazement  of  the 
colonists  insisted  upon  withdrawing  with  his  own  force  to 
Philadelphia,  leaving  the  whole  of  the  frontier  open  to  the 
assaults  of  the  hostile  Indians.  After  waiting  a  short  time 
at  Philadelphia  he  marched  slowly  on  to  join  a  force  oper- 
ating against  the  French  in  the  region  of  Lake  George, 
more  than  two  hundred  miles  to  the  north.  He  took  with 
him  only  the  regulars,  the  provincial  regiments  being  under 
the  control  of  the  governors  of  their  own  States.  Washing- 
ton therefore  remained  behind  in  Virginia  with  the  regi- 
ment of  that  colony.  The  blanks  made  in  Braddock's  fight 
were  filled  up,  and  the  force  raised  to  a  thousand  strong. 
With  these  he  was  to  protect  a  frontier  of  three  hundred 


THE   WINNING    OP   A   CONTINENT.  167 

and  fifty  miles  long  against  an  active  and  enterprising  foe 
more  numerous  than  himself,  and  who,  acting  on  the  other 
side  of  the  mountain  and  in  the  shade  of  the  deep  forests, 
could  choose  their  own  time  of  attack  and  launch  them- 
selves suddenly  upon  any  village  throughout  the  whole 
length  of  the  frontier. 

Nor  were  the  troops  at  his  disposal  the  material  which  a 
commander  would  wish  to  have  in  his  hand.  Individually 
they  were  brave,  but  being  recruited  among  the  poor  whites, 
the  most  turbulent  and  troublesome  part  of  the  population, 
they  were  wholly  unamenable  to  discipline,  and  Washing- 
ton had  no  means  whatever  for  enforcing  it.  He  applied 
to  the  House  of  Assembly  to  pass  a  law  enabling  him  to 
punish  disobedience,  but  for  months  they  hesitated  to  pass 
any  such  ordinance,  on  the  excuse  that  it  would  trench  on 
the  liberty  of  free  white  men. 

The  service,  indeed,  was  most  unpopular,  and  Washing- 
ton, whose  headquarters  were  at  Winchester,  could  do 
nothing  whatever  to  assist  the  settlements  on  the  border. 
His  officers  were  as  unruly  as  the  men,  and  he  was  further 
hampered  by  having  to  comply  with  the  orders  of  Governor 
Dinwiddie  at  Williamsburg,  two  hundred  miles  way. 

"  What  do  you  mean  to  do  ?  "  he  had  asked  James  Wal- 
sham  the  day  that  the  beaten  army  arrived  at  Fort  Cum- 
berland. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  James  said.  "  I  certainly  will  not  con- 
tinue with  Dunbar,  who  seems  to  me  to  be  acting  like  a 
coward;  nor  do  I  wish  to  go  into  action  with  regulars  again, 
not,  at  least,  until  they  have  been  taught  that  if  they  are 
to  fight  Indians  successfully  in  the  forests  they  must  aban- 
don all  their  traditions  of  drill,  and  must  fight  in  Indian 
fashion.    I  should  like  to  stay  with  you  if  you  will  allow  me." 

"  I  should  be  very  glad  to  have  you  with  me/'  Washington 
said;  "but  I  do  not  think  that  you  will  see  much  action 
here;  it  will  be  a  war  of  foravs.     The  Indians  will  pounce 


168  WITH  WOLFE   IN   CANADA:    OR, 

upon  a  village  or  solitary  farm-house,  murder  and  scalp  the 
inhabitants,  burn  the  buildings  to  the  ground,  and  in  an 
hour  be  far  away  beyond  reach  of  pursuit.  All  that  I  can 
do  is  to  occupy  the  chief  roads  by  which  they  can  advance 
into  the  heart  of  the  colony,  and  the  people  of  the  settle- 
ments lying  west  of  that  must,  perforce,  abandon  their 
homesteads  and  fly  east  until  we  are  strong  enough  to 
again  take  up  the  offensive.  Were  I  in  your  place  I  would 
at  once  take  horse  and  ride  north.  You  will  then  be  in 
plenty  of  time,  if  inclined,  to  join  in  the  expedition  against 
the  French  on  Port  George,  or  in  that  which  is  going  to 
march  on  Niagara.  I  fancy  the  former  will  be  ready  first. 
You  will  find  things  better  managed  there  than  here.  The 
colonists  in  that  part  have  for  many  years  been  accustomed 
to  Indian-fighting,  and  they  will  not  be  hampered  by  having 
regular  troops  with  them,  whose  officers'  only  idea  of  war- 
fare is  to  keep  their  men  standing  in  line  as  targets  for 
the  enemy.  There  are  many  bodies  of  experienced  scouts 
to  which  you  can  attach  yourself,  and  you  will  see  that 
white  men  can  beat  the  Indians  at  their  own  game." 

Although  sorry  to  leave  the  young  Virginian  officer, 
James  Walsham  thought  that  he  could  not  do  better  than 
follow  his  advice;  and  accordingly  the  next  day,  having 
procured  another  horse,  he  set  off  to  join  the  column  des- 
tined to  operate  on  the  lakes. 

The  prevision  of  Washington  was  shortly  realized,  and  a 
cloud  of  red  warriors  descended  on  the  border  settlements, 
carrying  murder,  rapine,  and  ruin  before  them.  Scores  of 
quiet  settlements  were  destroyed,  hundreds  of  men,  women, 
and  children  massacred,  and  in  a  short  time  the  whole  of 
the  outlying  farms  were  deserted,  and  crowds  of  weeping 
fugitives  flocked  eastward  behind  the  line  held  by  Wash- 
ington's regiment. 

But  bad  as  affairs  were  in  Virginia,  those  in  Pennsylvania 
were  infinitely  worse.     They  had  for  many  years  been  on 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  169 

such  friendly  terms  with  the  Indians  that  many  of  the  set- 
tlers had  no  arms,  nor  had  they  the  protection  in  the  way 
of  troops  which  the  government  of  Virginia  put  upon  the 
frontier.  The  government  of  the  colony  was  at  Philadel- 
phia, far  to  the  east,  and  sheltered  from  danger,  and  the 
Quaker  assembly  there  refused  to  vote  money  for  a  single 
soldier  to  protect  the  unhappy  colonists  on  the  frontier. 
They  held  it  a  sin  to  fight,  and  above  all  to  fight  with  In- 
dians, and  as  long  as  they  themselves  were  free  from  the 
danger,  they  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  tales  of  massacre  and 
to  the  pitiful  cries  for  aid  which  came  from  the  frontier. 
But  even  greater  than  their  objection  to  war  was  their  pas- 
sion of  resistance  to  the  representative  of  royalty,  the  gov- 
ernor. 

Petition  after  petition  came  from  the  border  for  arms  and 
ammunition,  and  for  a  militia  law  to  enable  the  people  to 
organize  and  defend  themselves;  but  the  Quakers  resisted, 
declaring  that  Braddock's  defeat  was  a  just  judgment  upon 
him  and  his  soldiers  for  molesting  the  French  in  their  set- 
tlement in  Ohio.  They  passed,  indeed,  a  bill  for  raising 
fifty  thousand  pounds  for  the  king's  use,  but  affixed  to  it  a 
condition  to  which  they  knew  well  the  governor  could  not 
assent,  viz.,  that  the  proprietary  lands  were  to  pay  their 
share  of  the  tax. 

To  this  condition  the  governor  was  unable  to  assent,  for 
according  to  the  constitution  of  the  colony,  to  which  he 
was  bound,  the  lands  of  William  Penn  and  his  descendants 
were  free  of  all  taxation.  For  weeks  the  dead-lock  contin- 
ued; every  day  brought  news  of  massacres  of  tens,  fifties, 
and  even  hundreds  of  persons,  but  the  assembly  remained 
obstinate  until  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  principal  citizens 
clamored  against  them,  and  four  thousand  frontiersmen 
started  on  their  march  to  Philadelphia  to  compel  them  to 
take  measures  for  defence. 

Bodies  of  massacred  men  were  brought  from  the  frontier 


170  WITH  WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

villages  and  paraded  through  the  town,  and  so  threatening 
became  the  aspect  of  the  population  that  the  assembly  of 
Quakers  were  at  last  obliged  to  pass  a  militia  law.  It  was, 
however,  an  absolutely  useless  one ;  it  specially  excepted  the 
Quakers  from  service,  and  constrained  nobody,  but  declared 
it  lawful  for  such  as  chose  to  form  themselves  into  com- 
panies, and  to  elect  officers  by  ballot.  The  company  officers 
might,  if  they  saw  fit,  elect,  also  by  ballot,  colonels,  lieu- 
tenant-colonels, and  majors.  These  last  might  then,  in 
conjunction  with  the  governor,  frame  articles  of  war,  to 
which,  however,  no  officer  or  man  was  to  be  subjected 
unless,  after  three  days'  consideration,  he  subscribed  them 
in  presence  of  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  declared  his  will- 
ingness to  be  bound  by  them. 

This  mockery  of  a  bill,  drawn  by  Benjamin  Franklin 
while  the  savages  were  raging  in  the  colony  and  the  smoke 
of  a  hundred  villages  was  ascending  to  the  skies,  was  re- 
ceived with  indignation  by  the  people,  and  this  rose  to 
such  a  height  that  the  assembly  must  have  yielded  uncon- 
ditionally had  not  a  circumstance  occurred  which  gave 
them  a  decent  pretext  for  retreat.  Tbe  governor  informed 
them  that  he  had(  just  received  a  letter  from  the  proprietors, 
as  Penn's  heirs  were  called,  giving  to  the  province  five 
thousand  pounds  to  aid  in  its  defence,  on  condition  that 
the  money  should  be  accepted  as  a  free  gift  and  not  as  their 
proportion  of  any  tax  that  was  or  might  be  laid  by  the  as- 
sembly. 

Thereupon  the  assembly  struck  out  the  clause  taxing 
the  proprietory  estates,  and  the  governor  signed  the  bill. 
A  small  force  was  then  raised  which  enabled  the  Indians  to 
be  to  some  extent  kept  in  check;  but  there  was  no  safety 
for  the  unhappy  settlers  in  the  west  of  Pennsylvania  during 
the  next  three  years,  while  the  French  from  Montreal  were 
hounding  on  their  savage  allies  by  gifts  and  rewards  to 
deeds  of  massacre  and  bloodshed.     The  northern  colonies 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  171 

had  shown  a  better  spirit.  Massachusetts,  which  had  always 
been  the  foremost  of  the  northern  colonies  in  resisting 
French  and  Indian  aggression,  had  at  once  taken  the  lead 
in  preparation  for  war.  No  less  than  4,500  men,  being  one 
in  eight  of  her  adult  males,  volunteered  to  fight  the  French, 
and  enlisted  for  the  various  expeditions,  some  in  the  pay 
of  the  province,  some  in  that  of  the  king. 

Shirley,  the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  himself  a  colonist, 
was  requested  by  his  assembly  to  nominate  the  commander. 
He  did  not  choose  an  officer  of  that  province,  as  this  would 
have  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  others,  but  nominated 
William  Johnson,  of  New  York — a  choice  which  not  only 
pleased  that  important  province,  but  had  great  influence  in 
securing  the  alliance  of  the  Indians  of  the  Five  Nations, 
among  whom  Johnson,  who  had  held  the  post  of  Indian 
commissioner,  was  extremely  popular. 

Connecticut  voted  1,200  men,  New  Hampshire  500,  Ehode 
Island  400,  and  New  York  800,  all  at  their  own  charge. 
Johnson,  before  assuming  the  command,  invited  the  war- 
riors of  the  Five  Nations  to  assemble  in  council.  Eleven 
hundred  Indian  warriors  answered  the  invitation,  and  after 
four  days'  speech-making  agreed  to  join.  Only  300  of  them, 
however,  took  the  field,  for  so  many  of  their  friends  and 
relatives  were  fighting  for  the  French  that  the  rest,  when 
they  sobered  down  after  the  excitement  of  the  council,  re- 
turned to  their  homes. 

The  object  of  the  expedition  was  the  attack  of  Crown 
Point — an  important  military  post  on  Lake  Champlain — 
and  the  colonists  assembled  near  Albany;  but  there  were 
great  delays.  The  five  colonial  assemblies  controlled  their 
own  troops  and  supplies.  Connecticut  had  refused  to  send 
her  men  until  Shirley  promised  that  her  commanding  officer 
should  rank  next  to  Johnson,  and  the  whole  movement  was 
for  some  time  at  a  dead-lock  because  the  five  governments 
could  not  agree  about  their  contributions  of  artillery  and 
store. 


172  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

The  troops  were  a  rough-looking  body.  Only  one  of  the 
cor]3S  had  a  blue  uniform,  faced  with  red ;  the  rest  wore  their 
ordinary  farm  clothing.  All  had  brought  their  own  guns  of 
every  description  and  fashion.  They  had  no  bayonets,  but 
carried  hatchets  in  their  belts  as  a  sort  of  substitute.  In 
point  of  morals  the  army,  composed  almost  entirely  of 
farmers  and  farmers'  sons,  was  exemplary.  It  is  recorded 
that  not  a  chicken  was  stolen.  In  the  camps  of  the  Puritan 
soldiers  of  New  England  sermons  were  preached  twice  a 
week,  and  there  were  daily  prayers  and  much  singing  of 
psalms;  but  these  good  people  were  much  shocked  by  the 
profane  language  of  the  troops  from  New  York  and  Ehode 
Island,  and  some  prophesied  that  disaster  would  be  sure 
to  fall  upon  the  army  from  this  cause. 

Months  were  consumed  in  various  delays;  and  on  the  21st 
of  August,  just  as  they  were  moving  forward,  four  Mohawks, 
whom  Johnson  had  sent  into  Canada,  returned  with  the 
news  that  the  French  were  making  great  preparations  and 
that  8,000  men  were  marching  to  defend  Crown  Point.  The 
papers  of  General  Braddock,  which  fell  with  all  the  baggage 
of  the  army  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  had  informed 
them  of  the  object  of  the  gathering  at  Albany,  and  now 
that  they  had  no  fear  of  any  further  attempt  against  their 
posts  in  Ohio,  they  were  able  to  concentrate  all  their  force 
for  the  defence  of  their  posts  on  Lake  Champlain. 

On  the  receipt  of  this  alarming  news  a  council  of  war  was 
held  at  Albany,  and  messages  were  sent  to  the  colonies  ask- 
ing for  reinforcements.  In  the  mean  time  the  army  moved 
up  the  Hudson  to  the  spot  called  the  Great  Carrying-place, 
where  Colonel  Lyman,  who  was  second  in  command,  had 
gone  forward  and  erected  a  fort,  which  his  men  called  after 
him,  but  was  afterward  named  Fort  Edward. 

James  "Walsham  joined  the  army  a  few  days  before  it 
moved  forward.  He  was  received  with  great  heartiness  by 
General  Johnson,  to  whom  he  brought  a  letter  of  introduc- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  173 

tion  from  Colonel  Washington,  and  who  at  once  offered  him 
a  position  as  one  of  his  aides-de-camp.  This  he  found  ex- 
ceedingly pleasant,  for  Johnson  was  one  of  the  most  jovial 
and  open-hearted  of  commanders.  His  hospitality  was  pro^ 
fuse,  and  his  private  means  being  large  he  was  able  to  keep 
a  capital  table,  which,  on  the  line  of  march,  all  officers  who 
happened  to  pass  by  were  invited  to  share.  This  was  a 
contrast,  indeed,  to  the  discipline  which  had  prevailed  in 
Braddock's  columns,  and  James  felt  as  if  he  were  starting 
upon  a  great  picnic  rather  than  upon  an  arduous  march 
against  a  superior  force. 

After  some  hesitation  as  to  the  course  the  army  should 
take,  it  was  resolved  to  march  for  Lake  George.  Gangs  of 
axemen  were  sent  to  hew  a  way,  and  on  the  26th  2,000  men 
marched  for  the  lake,  while  Colonel  Blanchard,  of  New 
Hampshire,  remained  with  500  to  finish  and  defend  Fort 
Lyman.  The  march  was  made  in  a  leisurely  manner,  and 
the  force  took  two  days  to  traverse  the  fourteen  miles  be- 
tween Fort  Lyman  and  the  lake.  They  were  now  in  a 
country  hitherto  untrodden  by  white  men  save  by  solitary 
hunters. 

They  reached  the  southern  end  of  the  beautiful  lake, 
which  hitherto  had  received  no  English  name,  and  was  now 
first  called  Lake  George  in  honor  of  the  king.  The  men 
set  to  work  and  felled  trees  until  they  had  cleared  a  suffi- 
cient extent  of  ground  for  their  camp  by  the  edge  of  the 
water,  and  posted  themselves  with  their  back  to  the  lake. 
In  their  front  was  a  forest  of  pitch-pine,  on  their  right  a 
marsh  covered  with  thick  brushwood,  on  their  left  a  low 
hill.  Things  went  on  in  the  same  leisurely  way  which  had 
marked  the  progress  of  the  expedition.  No  attempt  was 
made  to  clear  away  the  forest  in  front,  although  it  would 
afford  excellent  cover  for  any  enemy  who  might  attack 
them,  nor  were  any  efforts  made  to  discover  the  where- 
abouts or  intention  of  the  enemy. 


174  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

Every  day  wagons  came  up  with  provisions  and  boats. 
On  September  7th  an  Indian  scout  arrived  about  sunset 
and  reported  that  he  had  found  the  trail  of  a  body  of  men 
moving  from  South  Bay,  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake 
Champlain,  toward  Fort  Lyman.  Johnson  called  for  a 
volunteer  to  carry  a  letter  of  warning  to  Colonel  Blanchard. 
A  wagoner  named  Adams  offered  to  undertake  the  perilous 
service  and  rode  off  with  the  letter.  Sentries  were  posted 
and  the  camp  fell  asleep. 

While  Johnson  had  been  taking  his  leisure  on  Lake 
George  the  commander  of  the  French  force,  a  German  baron 
named  Dieskau  was  preparing  a  surprise  for  him;  he  had 
reached  Crown  Point  at  the  head  of  3,573  men — regulars, 
Canadians,  and  Indians — and  he  at  once  moved  forward 
with  the  greater  portion  of  his  command  on  Cariolon,  or,  as 
it  was  afterward  called,  Ticonderoga,  a  promontory  at  the 
junction  of  Lake  George  with  Lake  Champlain,  where  he 
would  bar  the  advance  of  the  English  whichever  road  they 
might  take.  The -Indians  with  the  French  caused  great 
trouble  to  their  commander,  doing  nothing  but  feast  and 
sleep,  but  on  September  4th  a  party  of  them  came  in  bring- 
ing a  scalp  and  an  English  prisoner  caught  near  Fort  Lyman. 

He  was  questioned  under  the  threat  of  being  given  over 
to  the  Indians  to  torture  if  he  did  not  tell  the  truth,  but 
the  brave  fellow,  thinking  he  should  lead  the  enemy  into 
a  trap,  told  them  that  the  English  army  had  fallen  back  to 
Albany,  leaving  500  men  at  Fort  Lyman,  which  he  repre- 
sented as  being  entirely  indefensible. 

Dieskau  at  once  determined  to  attack  that  place,  and  with 
216  regulars  of  the  battalions  of  Languedoc  and  La  Beine, 
084  Canadians,  and  about  600  Indians  started  in  canoes  and 
advanced  up  Lake  Champlain  till  they  came  to  the  end  of 
South  Bay.  Each  officer  and  man  carried  provisions  for 
eight  days  in  his  knapsack.  Two  days'  march  brought  them 
to  within  three  miles  of  Fort  Lyman,  and  they  encamped 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  175 

close  to  the  road  which  led  to  Lake  George.  Just  after 
they  had  encamped  a  man  rode  by  on  horseback.  It  was 
Adams,  Johnson's  messenger.  He  was  shot  by  the  Indians 
and  the  letter  found  upon  him.  Soon  afterward  ten  or 
twelve  wagons  appeared  in  charge  of  ammunition  drivers 
who  had  left  the  English  camp  without  orders. 

Some  of  the  drivers  were  shot,  two  taken  prisoners,  and 
the  rest  ran  away.  The  two  prisoners  declared  that,  con- 
trary to  the  assertion  of  the  prisoner  at  Ticonderoga,  a  large 
force  lay  encamped  by  the  lake.  The  Indians  held  a  council, 
and  presently  informed  Dieskau  that  they  would  not  attack 
the  fort,  which  they  believed  to  be  provided  with  cannon, 
but  would  join  in  an  attempt  on  the  camp  by  the  lake. 
Dieskau  judged  from  the  report  of  the  prisoners  that  the 
colonists  considerably  outnumbered  him,  although  in  fact 
there  was  no  great  difference  in  numerical  strength,  the 
Erench  column  numbering  1,500  and  the  colonial  force 
2,200,  besides  300  Mohawk  Indians.  But  Dieskau,  emulous 
of  repeating  the  defeat  of  Braddock,  and  believing  the  as- 
sertions of  the  Canadians  that  the  colonial  militia  was  con- 
temptible, determined  to  attack,  and  early  in  the  morning 
the  column  moved  along  the  road  toward  the  lake. 

When  within  four  miles  of  Johnson's  camp  they  entered 
a  rugged  valley.  On  their  right  was  a  gorge  hidden  in 
bushes,  beyond  which  rose  the  rocky  height  of  French 
Mountain.  On  their  left  rose  gradually  the  slopes  of  Y/est 
Mountain.  The  ground  was  thickly  covered  with  thicket 
and  forest.  The  regulars  marched  along  the  road;  the 
Canadians  and  Indians  pushed  their  way  through  the  woods 
as  best  they  could.  When  within  three  miles  of  the  lake 
their  scout  brought  in  a  prisoner,  who  told  them  that  an 
English  column  was  approaching.  The  regulars  were  halted 
on  the  road;  the  Canadians  and  Indians  moved  on  ahead 
and  hid  themselves  in  ambush  among  the  trees  and  bushes 
on  either  side  of  the  road. 


176  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

The  wagoners  who  had  escaped  the  evening  before  had 
reached. Johnson's  camp  about  midnight  and  reported  that 
there  was  a  war  party  on  the  road  near  Fort  Lyman. 

A  council  of  war  was  held,  and  under  an  entire  miscon- 
ception of  the  force  of  the  enemy  and  the  belief  that  they 
would  speedily  fall  back  from  Fort  Lyman,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  send  out  two  detachments,  each  500  strong,  one 
toward  Fort  Lyman,  the  other  to  catch  the  enemy  in  their 
retreat.  Ilendrick,  the  chief  of  the  Mohawks,  expressed 
his  strong  disapproval  of  this  plan,  and  accordingly  it  was 
resolved  that  the  thousand  men  should  go  as  one  body. 
Ilendrick  still  disapproved  of  the  plan,  but  nevertheless  re- 
solved to  accompany  the  column,  and  mounting  on  a  gun- 
carriage  he  harangued  his  warriors  with  passionate  elo- 
quence, and  they  at  once  prepared  to  accompany  them.  He 
was  too  old  and  fat  to  go  on  foot,  and  the  general  lent  him 
a  horse,  which  he  mounted  and  took  his  place  at  the  head 
of  the  column. 

Colonel  Williams  was  in  command,  with  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Whiting  as  second.  They  had  no  idea  of  meeting 
the  enemy  near  the  camp,  and  moved  forward  so  carelessly 
that  not  a  single  scout  was  thrown  out  in  front  or  flank. 
The  sharp  eye  of  the  old  Indian  chief  was  the  first  to  detect 
a  sign  of  the  enemy,  and  almost  at  the  same  moment  a  gun 
was  fired  from  the  bushes.  It  is  said  that  the  Iroquois  seeing 
the  Mohawks,  who  were  an  allied  tribe,  in  the  van,  wished 
to  warn  them  of  danger;  the  warning  came  too  late  to  save 
the  column  from  disaster,  but  it  saved  it  from  destruction. 
From  the  thicket  on  the  left  a  deadly  fire  blazed  out,  and 
the  head  of  the  column  was  almost  swept  away.  Hendrick's 
horse  was  shot,  and  the  chief  killed  with  a  bayonet  as  he 
tried  to  gain  his  feet. 

Colonel  Williams  seeing  rising  ground  on  his  right  made 
for  it,  calling  his  men  to  follow;  but  as  he  climbed  the  slope 
the  enemy's  fire  flashed  out  from  behind  every  tree,  and  he 


THE   WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  177 

fell  dead.  The  men  in  the  rear  pressed  forward  to  support 
their  comrades,  when  the  enemy  in  the  bushes  on  the  right 
flank  also  opened  fire.  Then  a  panic  began;  some  fled  at 
once  for -the  camp,  and  the  whole  column  recoiled  in  con- 
fusion, as  from  all  sides  the  enemy  burst  out,  shouting  and 
yelling.  Colonel  Whiting,  however,  bravely  rallied  a  portion 
of  Williams'  regiment,  and  aided  by  some  of  the  Mohawks 
and  by  a  detachment  which  Johnson  sent  out  to  his  aid,  cov- 
ered the  retreat,  fighting  behind  the  trees  like  the  Indians, 
and  falling  back  in  good  order  with  their  faces  to  the  enemy. 

So  stern  and  obstinate  was  their  resistance  that  the  French 
halted  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  camp.  They  had 
inflicted  a  heavy  blow,  but  had  altogether  failed  in  obtain- 
ing the  complete  success  they  looked  for.  The  o'bstinate 
defence  of  Whiting  and  his  men  had  surprised  and  dispirited 
them,  and  Dieskau,  when  he  collected  his  men,  found  the 
Indians  sullen  and  unmanageable  and  the  Canadians  un- 
willing to  advance  further,  for  they  were  greatly  depressed 
by  the  loss  of  a  veteran  officer,  Saint-Pierre,  who  com- 
manded them  and  who  had  been  killed  in  the  fight.  At 
length,  however,  he  persuaded  all  to  move  forward,  the 
regulars  leading  the  way. 

James  Walsham  had  not  accompanied  the  column,  and 
was  sitting  at  breakfast  with  General  Johnson  on  the  stump 
of  a  tree  in  front  of  his  tent,  when  on  the  still  air  a  rattling 
sound  broke  out. 

"  Musketry !  "  was  the  general  exclamation.  An  instan- 
taneous change  came  over  the  camp;  the  sound  of  laughing 
and  talking  was  hushed,  and  every  man  stopped  at  his 
work.  Louder  and  louder  swelled  the  distant  sound,  until 
the  shots  could  no  longer  be  distinguished  apart;  the  rattle 
had  become  a  steady  roll. 

"It  is  a  regular  engagement!"  the  general  exclaimed; 
"the  enemy  must  be  in  force  and  must  have  attacked 
Williams'  column." 

12 


178  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

General  Johnson  ordered  one  of  his  orderlies  to  mount 
and  ride  out  at  full  speed  and  see  what  was  going  on.  A 
quarter  of  an  hour  passed;  no  one  returned  to  his  work; 
the  men  stood  in  groups  talking  in  low  voices  and  listen- 
ing to  the  distant  roar. 

"It  is  clearer  than  it  was,"  the  general  exclaimed.  Sev- 
eral of  the  officers  standing  round  agreed  that  the  sound 
was  approaching. 

"  To  work,  lads!  "  the  general  said;  "  there  is  no  time  to 
be  lost.  Let  all  the  axe-men  fell  trees  and  lay  them  end  to 
end  to  make  a  breastwork;  the  rest  of  you  range  the  wagons 
in  a  line  behind  and  lay  the  boats  up  in  the  intervals.  Carry 
the  line  from  the  swamp  on  the  right  there  to  the  slope  of 
the  hill." 

In  an  instant  the  camp  was  a  scene  of  animation,  and 
the  forest  resounded  with  the  strokes  of  the  axes  and  the 
shouts  of  the  men  as  they  dragged  the  wagons  to  their 
position. 

"  I  was  a  fool,"  Johnson  exclaimed,  "  not  to  fortify  the 
camp  before;  but  who  could  have  supposed  that  the  French 
would  have  come  down  from  Crown  Point  to  attack  us  here ! " 

In  a  few  minutes  terror-stricken  men,  whites  and  Indians, 
arrived  at  a  run  through  the  forest  and  reported  that  they 
had  been  attacked  and  surprised  by  a  great  force  in  the 
forest,  that  Hendrick  and  Colonel  Williams  were  killed; 
and  numbers  of  the  men  shot  down.  They  reported  that 
all  was  lost;  but  the  heavy  roll  of  fire  in  the  distance  con- 
tradicted their  words  and  showed  that  a  portion  of  the  col- 
umn at  least  was  fighting  sternly  and  steadily,  though  the 
sound  indicated  that  they  were  falling  back. 

Two  hundred  men  had  already  been  dispatched  to  their 
assistance,  and  the  only  effect  of  the  news  was  to  redouble 
the  efforts  of  the  rest.  Soon  parties  arrived  carrying 
wounded;  but  it  w.as  not  until  an  hour  and  a  half  after  the 
engagement  began  that  the  main  body  of  the  column  were 


THE   WINNING   OP  A  CONTINENT.  179 

seen  marching  in  good  order  back  through  the  forest.  By 
this  time  the  hasty  defences  were  well-nigh  completed  and 
all  the  men  were  employed  in  cutting  down  the  thick 
brushwood  outside  so  as  to  clear  the  ground  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, and  so  prevent  the  enemy  from  stealing  up  under  shel- 
ter to  the  felled  trees. 

Three  cannon  were  planted  to  sweep  the  road  that  de- 
scended through  the  pines;  another  was  dragged  up  to  the 
ridge  of  the  hill.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  now 
placed  on  each  flank  of  the  camp;  the  main  body  stood  be- 
hind the  wagons  or  lay  flat  behind  the  logs  and  boats,  the 
Massachusetts  men  on  the  right,  the  Connecticut  men  on 
the  left. 

"  Now,  my  lads/'  Johnson  shouted  in  his  cheery  voice, 
"  you  have  got  to  fight.  Kemember,  if  they  get  inside  not 
one  of  you  will  ever  go  back  to  your  families  to  tell  the 
tale,  while  if  you  fight  bravely  you  will  beat  them  back 
sure  enough." 

In  a  few  minutes  ranks  of  white-coated  soldiers  could  be 
seen  moving  down  the  roads  with  their  bayonets  showing 
between  the  boughs ;  at  the  same  time  Indian  war-whoops 
rose  loud  in  the  forest,  and  then  dark  forms  could  be  seen 
bounding  down  the  slope  through  the  trees  toward  the 
camp  in  a  throng. 

There  was  a  movement  of  uneasiness  among  the  young 
rustics,  few  of  whom  ever  heard  a  shot  fired  in  anger  before 
that  morning;  but  the  officers,  standing  pistol  in  hand, 
threatened  to  shoot  any  man  who  moved  from  his  position. 
Could  Dieskau  have  launched  his  whole  force  at  once  upon 
the  camp  at  that  moment  he  would  probably  have  carried 
it,  but  this  he  was  powerless  to  do.  His  regular  troops 
were  well  in  hand;  but  the  mob  of  Canadians  and  Indians 
were  scattered  through  the  forest,  shouting,  yelling,  and 
firing  from  behind  trees. 

He  thought,  however,  that  if  he  led  the  regulars  to  the 


180  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:    OR, 

attack  the  others  would  come  forward,  and  he  therefore 
gave  the  word  for  the  advance.  The  French  soldiers  ad- 
vanced steadily  until  the  trees  grew  thinner.  They  were 
deployed  into  line  and  opened  fire  in  regular  volleys. 
Scarcely  had  they  done  so,  however,  when  Captain  Eyre, 
who  commanded  the  artillery,  opened  upon  them  with 
grape  from  his  three  guns,  while  from  wagon,  and  boat, 
and  fallen  log  the  musketry  fire  flashed  out  hot  and  bitter, 
and,  reeling  under  the  shower  of  iron  and  lead,  the  French 
line  broke  up,  the  soldiers  took  shelter  behind  trees,  and 
thence  returned  the  fire  of  the  defenders. 

Johnson  received  a  flesh-wound  in  the  thigh  and  retired 
to  his  tent,  where  he  spent  the  rest  of  the  day;  Lyman  took 
the  command,  ami  to  him  the  credit  of  the  victory  is  en- 
tirely due.  For  four  hours  the  combat  raged.  The  young 
soldiers  had  soon  got  over  their  first  uneasiness,  and  fought 
as  steadily  and  coolly  as  veterans ;  the  musketry  fire  was 
unbroken ;  from  every  tree,  bush,  and  rock  the  rifles  flashed 
out,  and  the  leaden  hail  flew  in  a  storm  over  the  camp  and 
cut  the  leaves  in  a  shower  from  the  forest.  Through  this 
Lyman  moved  to  and  fro  among  the  men,  directing,  en- 
couraging, cheering  them  on,  escaping  as  by  a  miracle  the 
balls  which  whistled  round  him.  Save  the  Indians  on  the 
English  side  not  a  man  but  was  engaged,  the  wagoners 
taking  their  guns  and  joining  in  the  fight.  The  Mohawks, 
however,  held  aloof,  saying  that  they  had  come  to  see  their 
English  brothers  fight,  but  animated  no  doubt  with  the 
idea  that  if  they  abstained  from  taking  part  in  the  fray 
and  the  day  went  against  the  English,  their  friends  the 
Iroquois  would  not  harm  them. 

The  French  Indians  worked  round  on  to  high  ground 
beyond  the  swamp  on  the  left,  and  their  fire  thence  took 
the  defenders  in  the  flank. 

Captain  Eyre  speedily  turned  his  guns  in  that  direction, 
and  a  few  well-directed  shells  soon  drove  the  Indians  from 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  181 

their  vantage-ground.  Dieskau  directed  his  first  attack 
against  the  left  and  centre ;  but  the  Connecticut  men  fought 
so  stoutly  that  he  next  tried  to  force  the  right,  where  the 
Massachusetts  regiments  of  Titcomb,  Ruggles,  and  Williams 
held  the  line.  For  an  hour  he  strove  hard  to  break  his  way 
through  the  intrenchments,  but  the  Massachusetts  men 
stood  firm,  although  Titcomb  was  killed  and  their  loss  was 
heavy.  At  length  Dieskau,  exposing  himself  within  short 
range  of  the  English  lines,  was  hit  in  the  leg.  While  his 
adjutant  Montreuil  was  dressing  the  wound  the  general  was 
again  hit  in  the  knee  and  thigh.  He  had  himself  placed 
behind  a  tree  and  ordered  Montreuil  to  lead  the  regulars 
in  a  last  effort  against  the  camp.  But  it  was  too  late.  The 
blood  of  the  colonists  was  now  up,  and  singly  or  in  small 
oodies  they  were  crossing  their  lines  of  barricade  and  work- 
ing up  among  the  trees  toward  their  assailants.  The  move- 
ment became  general,  and  Lyman,  seeing  the  spirit  of  his 
men,  gave  the  word,  and  the  whole  of  the  troops  with  a 
shout  leaped  up  and  dashed  through  the  wood  against  the 
enemy,  falling  upon  them  with  their  hatchets  and  the  butts 
of  their  guns. 

The  French  and  their  allies  instantly  fled.  As  the  col- 
onists massed  the  spot  where  Dieskau  was  sitting  on  the 
ground,  one  of  them,  singularly  enough  himself  a  French- 
man, who  had  ten  years  before  left  Canada,  fired  at  him 
and  shot  him  through  both  legs.  Others  came  up  and 
stripped  him  of  his  clothes,  but  on  learning  who  he  was 
they  carried  him  to  Johnson,  who  received  him  with  the 
greatest  kindness  and  had  every  attention  paid  to  him: 


182 


WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA. 


SKETCH  MAP  OF   LAKE   CHAMPLAIN   AND  LAKE  GEORGE, 

TO   ILLUSTRATE  OPERATIONS   1755-1759. 


CHAPTEK  XL 


SCOUTING. 


It  was  near  five  o'clock  before  the  final  rout  of  the 
French  took  place;  but  before  that  time  several  hundreds 
of  the  Canadians  and  Indians  had  left  the  scene  of  action, 
and  had  returned  to  the  scene  of  the  fight  in  the  wood  to 
plunder  and  scalp  the  dead.  They  were  resting  after  their 
bloody  work  by  a  pool  in  the  forest,  when  a  scouting  party 
from  Fort  Lyman  under  Captains  M'Ginnis  and  Folsom 
came  upon  them  and  opened  fire.  The  Canadians  and 
Indians,  outnumbering  their  assailants  greatly,  fought  for 
some  time,  but  were  finally  defeated  and  fled.  M'Ginnis 
was  mortally  wounded,  but  continued  to  give  orders  till 
the  fight  was  over.  The  bodies  of  the  slain  were  thrown 
into  the  pool,  which  to  this  day  bears  the  name  "The 
Bloody  Pool." 

The  various  bands  of  French  fugitives  reunited  in  the 
forest  and  made  their  way  back  to  their  canoes  in  South 
Bay,  and  reached  Ticonderoga  utterly  exhausted  and  fam- 
ished, for  they  had  thrown  away  their  knapsacks  in  their 
flight,  and  had  nothing  to  eat  from  the  morning  of  the 
fight  until  they  rejoined  their  comrades. 

Johnson  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  protecting  the 
wounded  French  general  from  the  Mohawks,  who,  although 
they  had  done  no  fighting  in  defence  of  the  camp,  wanted 
to  torture  and  burn  Dieskau  in  revenge  for  the  death  of 
Hendrick  and  their  warriors  who  had  fallen  in  the  ambush. 


184  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

He,  however,  succeeded  in  doing  so,  and  sent  him  in  a  lit- 
ter under  a  strong  escort  to  Albany.  Dieskau  was  after- 
ward taken  to  England  and  remained  for  some  years  at 
Bath,  after  which  he  returned  to  Paris.  He  never,  how- 
ever, recovered  from  his  numerous  wounds,  and  died  a  few 
years  later.  He  always  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  the 
kindness  he  had  received  from  the  colonial  officers.  Of 
the  provincial  soldiers  he  said  that  in  the  morning  they 
fought  like  boys,  about  noon  like  men,  and  in  the  after- 
noon like  devils. 

The  English  loss  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  was 
two  hundred  and  sixty-two,  for  the  most  part  killed  in  the 
ambush  in  the  morning.  The  French,  according  to  their 
own  account,  lost  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight,  but  it 
probably  exceeded  four  hundred,  the  principal  portion  of 
whom  were  regulars,  for  the  Indians  and  Canadians  kept 
themselves  so  well  under  cover  that  they  and  the  provin- 
cials behind  their  logs  were  able  to  inflict  but  little  loss  on 
each  other. 

Had  Johnson  followed  up  his  success  he  might  have 
reached  South  Bay  before  the  French,  in  which  case  the 
whole  of  Dieskau's  column  must  have  fallen  into  his  hands; 
nor  did  he  press  forward  against  Ticonderoga,  which  he 
might  easily  have  captured.  For  ten  days  nothing  was 
done  except  to  fortify  the  camp,  and  when  at  the  end  of 
that  time  he  thought  of  advancing  against  Ticonderoga, 
the  French  had  already  fortified  the  place  so  strongly  that 
they  were  able  to  defy  attack.  The  colonists  sent  him 
large  reinforcements,  but  the  season  was  getting  late,  and 
after  keeping  the  army  stationary  until  the  end  of  Novem- 
ber, the  troops,  having  suffered  terribly  from  the  cold  and 
exposure,  became  almost  mutinous,  and  were  finally  marched 
back  to  Albany,  a  small  detachment  being  left  to  hold  the 
fort  by  the  lake.  This  was  now  christened  Fort  William 
Henry. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  185 

The  victory  was  due  principally  to  the  gallantry  and 
coolness  of  Lyman ;  but  Johnson  in  his  report  of  the  bat- 
tle made  no  mention  of  that  officer's  name,  and  took  all 
the  credit  to  himself.  He  was  rewarded  by  being  made  a 
baronet  and  by  being  voted  a  pension  by  Parliament  of 
five  thousand  a  year. 

James  Walsham,  having  no  duties  during  the  fight  at  the 
camp,  had  taken  a  musket  and  lain  down  behind  the  logs 
with  the  soldiers,  and  had  all  the  afternoon  kept  up  a  fire 
at  the  trees  and  bushes  behind  which  the  enemy  were  hid- 
ing. After  the  battle  he  had  volunteered  to  assist  the  over- 
worked surgeons,  whose  labors  lasted  through  the  night. 
"When  he  found  that  no  forward  movement  was  likely  to 
take  place  he  determined  to  leave  the  camp.  He  therefore 
asked  Captain  Sogers,  who  was  the  leader  of  a  band  of 
scouts  and  a  man  of  extraordinary  energy  and  enterprise, 
to  allow  him  to  accompany  him  on  a  scouting  expedition 
toward  Ticonderoga. 

"I  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  with  me,"  Eogers  replied; 
"  but  you  know  it  is  a  service  of  danger;  it  is  not  like  work 
with  regular  troops,  where  all  march,  fight,  stand,  or  fall 
together.  Here  each  man  fights  for  himself.  Mind,  there 
is  not  a  man  among  my  band  who  would  not  risk  his  life 
for  the  rest;  but  scattered  through  the  woods  as  each  man 
is,  each  must  perforce  rely  principally  on  himself.  The 
woods  near  Ticonderoga  will  be  full  of  lurking  redskins, 
and  a  man  may  be  brained  and  scalped  without  his  fellow 
a  few  yards  away  hearing  a  sound.  I  only  say  this  that 
you  may  feel  that  you  must  take  your  chances.  The  men 
under  me  are  every  one  old  hunters  and  Indian  fighters, 
and  are  a  match  for  the-  redskin  in  every  move  of  forest 
war.  They  are  true  grit  to  the  backbone,  but  they  are 
rough  outspoken  men,  and  on  a  service  when  a  foot  care- 
lessly placed  on  a  dried  twig  or  a  word  spoken  above  a 
whisper  may  bring  a  crowd  of  yelping  redskins  upon  us 


186  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OK, 

and  cost  every  man  his  scalp,  they  would  speak  sharply  to 
the  king  himself  if  he  were  on  the  scout  with  them,  and 
you  must  not  take  offence  at  any  rough  word  that  may  be 
said/' 

James  laughed  and  said  that  he  should  not  care  how 
much  he  was  blown  up,  and  that  he  should  thankfully  re- 
ceive any  lessons  from  such  masters  of  forest  craft. 

"  Very  well,"  Captain  Eogers  said.  "  In  that  case  it  is 
settled.  I  will  let  you  have  a  pair  of  moccasins.  You 
cannot  go  walking  about  in  the  woods  in  those  boots.  You 
had  better  get  a  rifle.  Your  sword  you  had  best  leave  be- 
hind. It  will  be  of  no  use  to  you  and  will  only  be  in  y-Tur 
way/' 

James  had  no  difficulty  in  providing  himself  with  a  gun, 
for  numbers  of  weapons  picked  up  in  the  woods  after  the- 
rout  of  the  enemy  were  stored  in  camp.  The  rifles  had, 
however,  been  all  taken  by  the  troops,  who  had  exchanged 
their  own  firelocks  for  them.  Captain  Eogers  went  with 
him  among  the  men,  and  selected  a  well-finished  rifle  of 
which  one  of  them  had  possessed  himself.  Its  owner  read- 
ily agreed  to  accept  five  pounds  for  it,  taking  in  its  stead 
one  of  the  guns  in  the  store.  Before  choosing  it  Captain 
Eogers  placed  a  bit  of  paper  against  a  tree,  and  fired  sev- 
eral shots  at  various  distances  at  it. 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  rifle,"  he  said.  "  Its  only  fault  is  that 
it  is  rather  heavy,  but  it  shoots  all  the  better  for  it.  It  is 
evidently  a  French  gun,  I  should  say  by  a  first-rate  maker, 
built  probably  for  some  French  officer  who  knew  what  he 
was  about.  It  is  a  good  workmanlike  piece,  and  when  you 
learn  to  hold  it  straight  j^ou  can  trust  it  to  shoot." 

That  evening  James,  having  made  all  his  preparations, 
said  good-by  to  the  general  and  to  his  other  friends,  and 
joined  the  scouts  who  were  gathering  by  the  shore  of  the 
lake.  Ten  canoes,  each  of  which  would  carry  three  men, 
were  lying  by  the  shore. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  187 

"Nat,  you  and  Jonathan  will  take  this  young  fellow 
with  you.  He  is  a  lad  and  it  is  his  first  scout.  You  will 
find  him  of  the  right  sort.  He  was  with  Braddock,  and 
after  that  affair  hurried  up  here  to  see  fighting  on  the  lakes. 
He  can't  have  two  better  nurses  than  you  are.  He  is  going 
to  be  an  officer  in  the  king's  army,  and  wants  to  learn  as 
much  as  he  can,  so  that  if  he  ever  gets  with  his  men  into 
such  a  mess  as  Braddock  tumbled  into  he  will  know  what 
to  do  with  them." 

"All  right,  captain!  we  will  do  our  best  for  him.  It's 
risky  sort  of  business  ours  for  a  greenhorn,  but  if  he  is 
anyways  teachable  we  will  soon  make  a  man  of  him." 

The  speaker  was  a  wiry,  active  man  of  some  forty  years 
old,  with  a  weather-beaten  face  and  a  keen  gray  eye.  Jon- 
athan, his  comrade,  was  a  head  taller,  with  broad  shoul- 
ders, powerful  limbs,  and  a  quiet  but  good-tempered  face. 

"  That's  so,  isn't  it,  Jonathan  ?  "  Nat  asked. 

Jonathan  nodded.     He  was  not  a  man  of  many  words. 

"Have  you  ever  been  in  a  canoe  before?"  Nat  in- 
quired. 

" Never,"  James  said;  "but  I  am  accustomed  to  boats  of 
all  sorts,  and  can  handle  an  oar  fairly." 

"  Oars  ain't  no  good  here,"  the  scout  said.  "  You  will 
have  to  learn  to  paddle;  but  first  of  all  you  have  got  to 
learn  to  sit  still.  These  here  canoes  are  awkward  things 
for  a  beginner.  Now,  you  hand  in  your  traps  and  I  will 
stow  them  away,  then  you  take  your  place  in  the  middle 
of  the  boat.  Here's  a  paddle  for  you,  and  when  you  begin 
to  feel  yourself  comfortable  you  can  start  to  try  with  it, 
easy  and  gentle  to  begin  with,  but  you  must  lay  it  in  when 
we  get  near  where  we  may  expect  that  redskins  may  be  in 
the  woods,  for  the  splash  of  a  paddle  might  cost  us  all  our 
scalps." 

James  took  his  seat  in  the  middle  of  the  boat.  Jonathan 
was   behind  him,   Nat  handled  the  paddle  in  the   bow. 


188  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

There  was  but  a  brief  delay  in  starting,  and  the  ten  boats 
darted  noiselessly  out  on  to  the  lake.  For  a  time  James 
did  not  attempt  to  use  his  paddle.  The  canoe  was  of  birch 
bark,  so  thin  that  it  seemed  to  him  that  an  incautious 
movement  would  instantly  knock  a  hole  through  her. 

Once  under  way  she  was  steadier  than  he  had  expected, 
and  James  could  feel  her  bound  forward  with  each  stroke 
of  the  paddles.  When  he  became  accustomed  to  the  motion 
of  the  boat  he  raised  himself  from  a  sitting  position  in  the 
bottom,  and  kneeling  as  the  others  were  doing,  he  began  to 
dip  his  paddle  quietly  in  the  water  in  time  with  their 
stroke.  His  familiarity  with  rowing  rendered  it  easy  for 
him  to  keep  time  and  swing,  and  ere  long  he  found  him- 
self putting  a  considerable  amount  of  force  into  each  stroke. 
Nat  looked  back  over  his  shoulder. 

"  Well  done,  young  'un.  That's  first-rate  for  a  beginner, 
and  it  makes  a  deal  of  difference  on  our  arms.  The  others 
are  all  paddling  three,  and  though  Jonathan  and  I  have 
beaten  three  before  now,  when  our  scalps  depended  on  our 
doing  so,  it  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  work  whether 
you  have  a  sitter  to  take  along  or  an  extra  paddle  going/' 

It  was  falling  dusk  when  the  boat  started,  and  was  by 
this  time  quite  dark.  Scarce  a  word  was  heard  in  the  ten 
canoes  as,  keeping  near  the  right-hand  shore  of  the  lake, 
they  glided  rapidly  along  in  a  close  body.  So  noiselessly 
were  the  paddles  dipped  into  the  water  that  the  drip  from 
them  as  they  were  lifted  was  the  only  sound  heard. 

Four  hours'  steady  paddling  took  them  to  the  narrows 
about  five-and-twenty  miles  from  their  starting-point. 
Here,  on  the  whispered  order  of  Nat,  James  laid  in  his  pad- 
dle; for,  careful  as  he  was,  he  occasionally  made  a  slight 
splash  as  he  put  it  in  the  water.  The  canoes  now  kept  in 
single  file  almost  under  the  trees  on  the  right  bank,  for  the 
lake  was  here  scarce  a  mile  across,  and  watchful  eyes  might 
be  on  the  look-out  on  the  shore  to  the  left.     Another  ten 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  189 

miles  was  passed,  and  then  the  canoes  were  steered  in  to 
the  shore. 

The  guns,  blankets,  and  bundles  were  lifted  out;  the 
canoes  raised  on  the  shoulders  of  the  men  and  carried  a 
couple  of  hundred  yards  among  the  trees;  then,  with 
scarcely  a  word  spoken,  each  man  rolled  himself  in  his 
blanket  and  lay  down  to  sleep,  four  being  sent  out  as  scouts 
in  various  directions.  Soon  after  daybreak  all  were  on  foot 
again,  although  it  had  been  arranged  that  no  move  should 
be  made  till  night  set  in.  No  fires  were  lighted,  for  they 
had  brought  with  them  a  supply  of  biscuit  and  dry  deer's 
flesh  sufficient  for  a  week. 

"  How  did  you  get  on  yesterday  ?  "  Captain  Eogers  asked 
as  he  came  up  to  the  spot  where  James  had  just  risen  to 
his  feet. 

"  First-rate,  captain ! "  Nat  answered  for  him.  "  I  hardly 
believed  that  a  young  fellow  could  have  handled  a  paddle 
so  well  at  the  first  attempt.  He  rowed  all  the  way,  except 
just  the  narrows,  and  though  I  don't  say  as  he  was  noise- 
less, he  did  wonderfully  well,  and  we  came  along  with  the 
rest  as  easy  as  may  be." 

"I  thought  I  heard  a  little  splash  now  and  then,"  the 
captain  said,  smiling;  "but  it  was  very  slight  and  could  do 
no  harm  where  the  lake  is  two  or  three  miles  wide,  as  it  is 
here;  but  you  will  have  to  lay  in  your  paddle  when  we  get 
near  the  other  end,  for  the  sides  narrow  in  there,  and  the 
redskins  would  hear  a  fish  jump  half  a  mile  aAvay." 

During  the  day  the  men  passed  their  time  in  sleep,  in 
mending  their  clothes,  or  in  talking  quietly  together.  The 
use  of  tea  had  not  yet  become  general  in  America,  and  the 
meals  were  washed  down  with  water  drawn  from  the  lake, 
where  an  overhanging  bush  shaded  the  shore  from  the 
sight  of  any  one  on  the  opposite  bank,  mixed  with  rum 
from  the  gourds  which  all  the  scouts  carried. 

Nat  spent  some  time  in  pointing  out  to  James  the  signs 


190  WITH    WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

by  which  the  hunters  found  their  way  through  the  forest; 
by  the  moss  and  lichens  growing  more  thickly  on  the  side 
of  the  trunks  of  the  trees  opposed  to  the  course  of  the  pre- 
vailing winds,  or  by  a  slight  inclination  of  the  upper  boughs 
of  the  trees  in  the  same  direction.  "An  old  woodsman  can 
tell,"  he  said,  "on  the  darkest  night,  on  running  his  hand 
round  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  by  the  feel  of  the  bark,  which  is 
north  and  south;  but  it  would  be  long  before  you  can  get 
to  such  niceties  as  that;  but  if  you  keep  your  eyes  open  as 
you  go  along,  and  look  at  the  signs  on  the  trunks,  which 
are  just  as  plain  when  you  once  know  them  as  the'marks 
on  a  man's  face,  you  will  be  able  to  make  your  way  through 
the  woods  in  the  daytime.  Of  course  when  the  sun  is  shin- 
ing you  get  its  help,  for  although  it  is  not  often  a  gleam 
comes  down  through  the  leaves,  sometimes  you  come  upon 
a  little  patch,  and  you  are  sure,  now  and  then,  to  strike  on 
a  gap  where  a  tree  has  fallen,  and  that  gives  you  a  line 
again.  A  great  help  to  a  young  beginner  is  the  sun,  for  a 
young  hand  in  the  woods  gets  confused  and  doubts  the 
signs  of  the  trees ;  but  in  course  when  he  comes  on  a  patch 
of  sunlight  he  can't  make  a  mistake  nohow  as  to  the  direc- 
tion." 

James  indulged  in  a  silent  hope  that  if  he  were  ever  lost 
in  the  woods  the  sun  would  be  shining,  for  look  as  earn- 
estly as  he  would  he  could  not  perceive  the  signs  which 
appeared  so  plain  and  distinct  to  the  scout.  Occasionally, 
indeed,  he  fancied  that  there  was  some  slight  difference  be- 
tween one  side  of  the  trunk  and  the  other;  but  he  was  by 
no  means  sure  that  even  in  these  cases  he  should  have  no- 
ticed it  unless  it  had  been  pointed  out  to  him,  while  in  the 
greater  part  of  the  trees  he  could  discern  no  difference 
whatever. 

"It's  just  habit,  my  lad,"  Nat  said  encouragingly  to  him; 
"there's  just  as  much  difference  between  one  side  of  the 
tree  and  the  other  as  there  is  between  two  men's  faceo      It 

• 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  191 

comes  of  practice.  Now  just  look  at  the  roots  of  this  tree; 
don't  you  see  on  one  side  they  run  pretty  nigh  straight 
out  from  the  trunk,  while  from  the  other  they  go  down 
deep  into  the  ground  ?  That  speaks  for  itself ;  the  tree  has 
thrown  out  its  roots  to  claw  into  the  ground  and  get  a  hold 
on  the  side  from  which  the  wind  comes,  while  on  the  other 
side,  having  no  such  occasion,  it  has  dipped  its  root  down 
to  look  for  moisture  and  food." 

"  Yes,  I  do  see  that,"  James  said;  "  that  is  easy  enough  to 
make  out;  but  the  next  tree,  and  the  next,  and  as  far  as  i 
see  all  the  others  don't  seem  to  have  any  difference  in  their 
roots  one  side  or  the  other." 

"  That  is  so,"  the  scout  replied.  "  You  see,  those  are 
younger  trees  than  this,  and  it  is  like  enough  they  did  not 
grow  under  the  same  circumstances.  When  a  few  trees 
fall  or  a  small  clearing  is  made  by  a  gale,  the  young  trees 
that  grow  up  are  well  sheltered  from  the  wind  by  the  for- 
est, and  don't  want  to  throw  out  roots  to  hold  them  up; 
but  when  a  great  clearing  has  been  made  by  a  fire  or  other 
causes  the  trees,  as  they  grow  up  together,  have  no  shelter, 
and  must  stretch  out  their  roots  to  steady  them. 

"  Sometimes  you  will  find  all  the  trees  for  a  long  distance 
with  their  roots  like  this,  sometimes  only  "one  tree  among 
a  number.  Perhaps  when  they  started  that  tree  had  more 
room  or  a  deeper  soil,  and  grew  faster  than  the  rest  and 
got  his  head  above  them,  so  he  felt  the  wind  more  and  had 
to  throw  out  his  roots  to  steady  himself,  while  the  others, 
all  growing  the  same  height,  did  not  need  to  do  so." 

"Thank  you,"  James  said.  "I  understand  now,  and 
will  bear  it  in  mind.  It  is  very  interesting,  and  I  should 
like  above  all  things  to  be  able  to  read  the  signs  of  the 
woods  as  you  do." 

"  It  will  come,  lad ;  it's  a  sort  of  second  nature.  These 
things  are  gifts.  The  redskin  thinks  it  just  as  wonderful 
that  the  white  man  should  be  able  to  take  up  a  piece  of 


192  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

paper  covered  with  black  marks  and  to  read  off  sense  out 
of  them,  as  you  do  that  he  should  be  able  to  read  every 
mark  and  sign  of  the  wood.  He  can  see  as  plain  as  if  the 
man  was  still  standing  on  it  the  mark  of  a  foot-print,  and 
can  tell  you  if  it  was  made  by  a  warrior  or  a  squaw,  and 
how  long  they  have  passed  by,  and  whether  they  were  walk- 
ing fast  or  slow,  while  the  ordinary  white  man  might  go 
down  on  his  hands  and  knees  and  stare  at  the  ground,  and 
wouldn't  be  able  to  see  the  slightest  sign  or  mark.  For  a 
white  man  my  eyes  are  good,  but  they  are  not  a  patch  on 
a  redskin's.  I  have  lived  among  the  woods  since  I  was  a 
boy;  but  even  now  a  redskin  lad  can  pick  up  a  trail  and 
follow  it  when,  look  as  I  will,  I  can't  see  as  a  blade  of  grass 
has  been  bruised.  No;  these  things  is  partly  natur  and 
partly  practice.  Practice  will  do  a  lot  for  a  white  man, 
but  it  won't  take  him  up  to  redskin  natur." 

Not  until  night  had  fallen  did  the  party  again  launch 
their  canoes  on  the  lake.  Then  they  paddled  for  several 
hours  until,  as  James  imagined,  they  had  traversed  a  greater 
distance  by  some  miles  than  that  which  they  had  made  on 
the  previous  evening.  He  knew  from  what  he  had  learned 
during  the  day  that  they  were  to  land  some  six  miles  below 
the  point  where  Lake  George  joins  Lake  Champlain,  and 
where,  on  the  opposite  side,  on  a  promontory  stretching 
into  the  lake,  the  French  were  constructing  their  new  fort. 

The  canoes  were  to  be  carried  some  seven  or  eight  miles 
through  the  wood  across  the  neck  of  land  between  the  two 
lakes,  and  were  then  to  be  launched  again  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  so  that  by  following  the  east  shore  of  that  lake  they 
would  pass  Ticonderoga  at  a  safe  distance.  The  halt  was 
made  as  noiselessly  as  before  and  having  hauled  up  the 
canoes  the  men  slept  till  daybreak,  and  then,  lifting  the 
light  craft  on  their  shoulders,  started  for  their  journey 
through  the  woods.  It  was  toilsome  work,  for  the  ground 
was  rough  and  broken,  often  thickly  covered  with  under- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  193 

wood.  Eidges  had  to  be  crossed  and  deep  ravines  passed, 
and  although  the  canoes  were  not  heavy,  the  greatest  care 
had  to  he  exercised,  for  a  graze  against  a  projecting  bough 
or  the  edge  of  a  rock  would  suffice  to  tear  a  hole  in  the 
thin  bark. 

It  was  not  until  late  in  the  afternoon  that  they  arrived 
on  the  shores  of  Lake  Ohamplain.  A  fire  was  lighted  now, 
the  greatest  care  being  taken  to  select  perfectly  dry  sticks, 
for  the  Iroquois  were  likely  to  be  scattered  far  and  wide 
among  the  woods;  the  risk,  however,  was  far  less  than 
when  in  sight  of  the  French  side  of  Lake  George.  After 
darkness  fell  the  canoes  were  again  placed  in  the  water, 
and  striking  across  the  lake  they  followed  the  right-hand 
shore.  After  paddling  for  about  an  hour  and  a  half  the 
work  suddenly  ceased. 

The  lake  seemed  to  widen  on  their  left,  for  they  had  just 
passed  the  tongue  of  land  between  the  two  lakes,  and  on 
the  opposite  shore  a  number  of  fires  were  seen  burning 
brightly  on  the  hill-side.  It  was  Ticoncleroga  they  were 
now  abreast  of,  the  advanced  post  of  the  French.  They 
lingered  for  some  time  before  the  paddles  were  again 
dipped  in  water,  counting  the  fires  and  making  a  careful 
note  of  the  position.  They  paddled  on  again  until  some 
twelve  miles  beyond  the  fort,  and  then  crossed  the  lake  and 
landed  on  the  French  shore.  But  the  canoes  did  not  all 
approach  the  shore  together  as  they  had  done  on  the  pre- 
vious nights.  They  halted  half  a  mile  out,  and  Captain 
Eogers  went  forward  with  his  own  and  another  canoe  and 
landed,  and  it  was  not  for  half  an  hour  that  the  signal  was 
given,  by  an  imitation  of  the  croaking  of  a  frog,  that  a 
careful  search  had  ascertained  the  forest  to  be  untenanted 
and  the  landing  safe. 

No  sooner  was  the  signal  given  than  the  canoes  were  set 
in  motion  and  were  soon  safely  hauled  up  on  shore.  Five 
men  went  out  as  usual  as  scouts,  and  the  rest,  fatigued  by 
13 


194  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

their  paddle  and  the  hard  day's  work,  were  soon  asleep. 
In  the  morning  they  were  about  to  start  and  Rogers  or- 
dered the  canoes  to  be  hauled  up  and  hidden  among  the 
bushes,  where,  having  done  their  work,  they  would  for  the 
present  be  abandoned,  to  be  recovered  and  made  useful  on 
some  future  occasion.  The  men  charged  with  the  work 
gave  a  sudden  exclamation  when  they  reached  the  canoes. 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  Rogers  said  angrily.  "Do  you  want  to 
bring  all  the  redskins  in  the  forest  upon  us  ?  " 

"  The  canoes  are  all  damaged,"  one  of  the  scouts  said, 
coming  up  to  him. 

There  was  a  general  movement  to  the  canoes,  which  were 
lying  on  the  bank  a  few  yards'  distance  from  the  water's 
edge.  Every  one  of  them  had  been  rendered  useless,  the 
thin  birch  bark  had  been  gashed  and  slit,  pieces  had  been 
cut  out,  and  not  one  of  them  had  escaped  injury  or  was  fit 
to  take  the  water.  Beyond  a  few  low  words  and  exclama- 
tions of  dismay,  not  a  word  was  spoken  as  the  band  gath- 
ered round  the  canoes. 

"  Who  were  on  the  watch  on  this  side  ?  "  Rogers  asked. 

"  Nat  and  Jonathan  took  the  first  half  of  the  night," 
one  of  the  scouts  said.  "  Williams  and  myself  relieved 
them." 

As  all  four  were  men  of  the  greatest  skill  and  experience, 
Rogers  felt  sure  that  no  neglect  or  carelessness  on  their 
part  could  have  led  to  the  disaster. 

"  Did  any  of  you  see  any  passing  boats  or  hear  any  sound 
on  the  lake  ?  " 

N  The  four  men  who  had  been  on  guard  replied  in  the 
negative. 

"  I  will  swear  no  one  landed  near  the  canoes,"  Nat  said. 
"There  was  a  glimmer  on  the  water  all  night;  a  canoe 
could  not  have  possibly  come  near  the  bank  anywheres 
here  without  our  seeing  it." 

"  Then  he  must  have  come  from  the  land  side,"  Rogers 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  195 

said.  "  Some  skulking  Indian  must  have  seen  us  out  on 
the  lake  and  have  hidden  up  where  we  landed.  He  may- 
have  been  in  a  tree  overhead  all  the  time,  and  directly  the 
canoes  were  hauled  up  he  may  have  damaged  them  and 
made  off.  There  is  no  time  to  be  lost,  lads;  it  is  five  hours 
since  we  landed;  if  he  started  at  once  the  redskins  may 
be  all  round  us  now.  It  is  no  question  now  of  our  scout- 
ing round  the  French  fort,  it  is  one  of  saving  our  scalps." 

"  How  could  it  have  been  done  ?  "  James  Walsham  asked 
Nat  in  a  low  tone.  "  We  were  all  sleeping  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  canoes  and  some  of  the  men  were  close  to 
them.     I  should  have  thought  we  must  have  heard  it." 

" Heard  it!"  the  hunter  said  contemptuously;  "why,  a 
redskin  would  make  no  more  noise  in  cutting  them  holes 
and  gashes  than  you  would  in  cutting  a  hunk  of  deer's 
flesh  for  your  dinner.  He  would  lie  on  the  ground  and 
wriggle  from  one  to  another  like  an  eel;  but  I  reckon  he 
didn't  begin  till  the  camp  was  still.  The  canoes  wasn't 
hauled  up  till  we  had  sarched  the  woods,  as  we  thought, 
and  then  we  was  moving  about  close  by  them  till  we  lay 
down.  I  was  standing  theer  on  the  water's  edge  not  six 
feet  away  from  that  canoe.  I  never  moved  for  two  hours, 
and  quiet  as  a  redskin  may  be  he  must  have  taken  time  to 
do  that  damage,  so  as  I  never  heard  a  sound  as  loud  as  the 
falling  of  a  leaf.  No.  I  reckon  as  he  was  at  the  very  least 
two  hours  over  that  job.  He  may  have  been  gone  four 
hours  or  a  bit  over,  but  not  more;  but  that  don't  give  us 
much  of  a  start.  It  would  take  him  an  hour  and  a  half 
to  get  to  the  fort,  then  he  would  have  to  report  to  the 
French  chap  in  command,  and  then  there  might  be  some 
talk  before  he  set  out  with  the  redskins,  leaving  the 
French  to  follow." 

"  It's  no  use  thinking  of  mending  the  canoes,  I  suppose  ?  " 
James  asked. 

The  hunter  shook  his  head. 


196  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA'    OR, 

"  It  would  take  two  or  three  hours  to  get  fresh  bark  and 
mend  those  holes/'  he  said,  "  and  we  haven't  got  as  many 
minutes  to  spare.     There,  now,  we  are  off." 

While  they  had  been  speaking  Eogers  had  Leen  holding 
a  consultation  with  two  or  three  of  his  most  experienced 
followers,  and  they  had  arrived  at  pretty  nearly  the  same 
conclusion  as  that  of  Eogers,  namely,  that  the  Indian  had 
probably  taken  two  or  three  hours  in  damaging  the  canoes 
and  getting  fairly  away  into  the  forest;  but  that  even  if 
he  had  done  so  the  Iroquois  would  be  up  in  the  course  of 
half  an  hour. 

"  Let  each  man  pack  his  share  of  meat  on  his  back," 
Eogers  said;  "don't  leave  a  scrap  behind.  Quick,  lads, 
there's  not  a  minute  to  be  lost — it's  a  case  of  legs  now. 
There's  no  hiding  the  trail  of  thirty  men  from  redskin 
eyes." 

In  a  couple  of  minutes  all  were  ready  for  the  start,  and 
Eogers  at  once  led  the  way  at  a  long  slinging  trot  straight 
back  from  the  lake,  first  saying: 

"Pick  your  way,  lads,  and  don't  tread  on  a  fallen  stick. 
There  is  just  one  chance  of  saving  our  scalps,  and  only 
one,  and  that  depends  upon  silence." 

As  James  ran  along  at  the  heels  of  Nat  he  was  struck 
with  the  strangeness  of  the  scene  and  the  noiselessness 
with  which  the  band  of  moccasin-footed  men  flitted  among 
the  trees.  Not  a  word  was  spoken.  All  had  implicit  con- 
fidence in  their  leader,  the  most  experienced  bush-fighter 
on  the  frontier,  and  knew  that  if  any  one  could  lead  them 
safe  from  the  perils  that  surrounded  them  it  was  Eogers. 

James  wondered  what  his  plan  could  be;  it  seemed  cer- 
tain to  him  that  the  Indians  must  sooner  or  later  overtake 
them.  They  would  be  aware  of  the  strength  of  the  band, 
and  confiding  in  their  superior  numbers  would  be  able  to 
push  forward  in  pursuit  without  pausing  for  many  precau- 
tions.    Once  overtaken  the  band  must  stand  at  bay,  and 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  19? 

even  could  they  hold  the  Indians  in  check  the  sound  of 
the  firing  would  soon  bring  the  Frc-nch  soldiers  to  the  spot. 

They  had  been  gone  some  twenty  minutes  only  when  a 
distant  war-whoop  rose  in  the  forest  behind  them. 

"  They  have  come  down  on  the  camp/'  Nat  said,  glanc- 
ing round  over  his  shoulder,  "and  find  we  have  left  it.  I 
expect  they  hung  about  a  little  before  they  ventured  in, 
knowing  as  we  should  be  expecting  them  when  we  found 
the  canoes  was  useless.  That  war-whoop  tells  'em  all  as 
we  have  gone.  They  will  gather  there  and  then  be  after 
us  like  a  pack  of  hounds.  Ah!  that  is  what  I  thought 
the  captain  was  up  to." 

Eogers  had  turned  sharp  to  the  left,  the  direction  in 
which  Ticonderoga  stood.  He  slacked  down  his  speed 
somewhat,  for  the  perspiration  was  streaming  down  the 
faces  even  of  his  trained  and  hardy  followers.  From  time 
to  time  he  looked  round  to  see  that  all  were  keeping  well 
together.  Although  in  such  an  emergency  as  this  none 
thought  of  questioning  the  judgment  of  their  leader,  many 
of  them  were  wondering  at  the  unusual  speed  at  which  he 
was  leading  them  along.  They  had  some  two  miles  start 
of  their  pursuers,  and  had  evening  been  at  hand  they  would 
have  understood  the  importance  of  keeping  ahead  until 
darkness  came  on  to  cover  their  trail;  but  with  the  whole 
day  before  them  they  felt  that  they  must  be  overtaken 
sooner  or  later,  and  they  could  not  see  the  object  of  ex- 
hausting their  strength  before  the  struggle  began. 

As  they  ran  on,  at  a  somewhat  slower  pace  now,  an  idea 
as  to  their  leader's  intention  dawned  upon  most  of  the 
scouts,  who  saw  by  the  direction  they  were  taking  that 
they  would  again  strike  the  lake  shore  near  the  French 
fort.  Nat,  who,  light  and  wiry,  was  running  easily,  while 
many  of  his  comrades  were  panting  with  their  exertions, 
was  now  by  the  side  of  James  Walsham. 

"  Give  me  your  rifle,  lad,  for  a  bit.     You  are  new  to  this 


198  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

work  and  the  weight  of  the  gun  takes  it  out  of  you.  We 
have  got  another  nine  or  ten  miles  before  us  yet." 

"  I  can  hold  on  for  a  bit,"  James  replied ;  "  I  am  getting 
my  wind  better  now ;  but  why  only  ten  miles  ?  We  must 
be  seventy  away  from  the  fort." 

"  We  should  never  get  there,"  Nat  said ;  "  a  few  of  us 
might  do  it,  but  the  redskins  would  be  on  us  in  an  hour 
or  two.  I  thought  when  we  started  as  the  captain  would 
have  told  us  to  scatter,  so  as  to  give  each  of  us  some  chance 
of  getting  off;  but  I  see  his  plan  now,  and  it's  the  only  one 
as  there  is  which  gives  us  a  real  chance.  He  is  making 
straight  for  the  French  fort.  He  reckons,  no  doubt,  as 
the  best  part  of  the  French  troops  will  have  marched  out 
after  the  redskins." 

"  But  there  would  surely  be  enough  left,"  James  said, 
"  to  hold  the  fort  against  us;  and  even  if  we  could  take  it 
we  could  not  hold  it  an  hour  when  they  all  came  up." 

"He  ain't  thinking  of  the  fort,  boy, he's  thinking  of  the 
boats.  We  know  as  they  have  lots  of  'em  there,  and  if  we 
can  get  there  a  few  minutes  before  the  redskins  overtake 
us  we  may  get  off  safe.  It's  a  chance,  but  I  think  it's  a 
good  one." 

Others  had  caught  their  leader's  idea  and  repeated  it  to 
their  comrades,  and  the  animating  effect  soon  showed  it- 
self in  the  increased  speed  with  which  the  party  hurried 
through  the  forest.  Before,  almost  every  man  had  thought 
their  case  hopeless,  had  deemed  that  they  had  only  to  con- 
tinue their  flight  until  overtaken  by  the  redskins,  and 
that  they  must  sooner  or  later  succumb  to  the  rifles  of  the 
Iroquois  and  their  French  allies.  But  the  prospect  that 
after  an  hour's  run  a  means  of  escape  might  be  found  ani- 
mated each  man  to  renewed  efforts. 

After  running  for  some  distance  longer  Eogers  suddenly 
halted  and  held  up  his  hand,  and  the  band  simultaneously 
came  to  a  halt.     At  first  nothing  could  be  heard  save  their 


i 
THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  199 

own  quick  breathing,  then  a  confused  noise  was  heard  to 
their  left  front,  a  deep  trampling  and  the  sound  of  voices, 
and  an  occasional  clash  of  arms. 

"  It  is  the  French  column  coming  out,"  Nat  whispered, 
as  Eogers,  swerving  somewhat  to  the  right  and  making  a 
sign  that  all  should  run  as  silently  as  possible,  continued 
his  course. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


A    COMMISSION. 


Peesentlt  the  noise  made  by  the  column  of  French 
troops  was  heard  abreast  of  the  fugitives,  then  it  died  away 
behind  them,  and  they  again  directed  their  course  to  the 
left.  Ten  minutes  later  they  heard  a  loud  succession  of 
Indian  whoops  and  knew  that  the  redskins  pursuing  them 
had  also  heard  the  French  column  on  its  march,  and  would 
be  warning  them  of  the  course  which  the  band  were  taking. 
The  scouts  were  now  but  four  miles  from  Ticonderoga,  and 
each  man  knew  that  it  was  a  mere  question  of  speed. 

"  Throw  away  your  meat,"  Sogers  ordered,  "  you  will  not 
want  it  now,  and  every  pound  tells."  The  men  had- already 
got  rid  of  their  blankets,  and  wTere  now  burdened  only  with 
their  rifles  and  ammunition.  The  ground  was  rough  and 
broken,  for  they  were  nearing  the  steep  promontory  on 
which  the  French  fort  had  been  erected.  They  were  still 
a  mile  ahead  of  their  pursuers,  and  although  the  latter  had 
gained  that  distance  upon  them  since  the  first  start,  the 
scouts  knew  that  now  they  were  exerting  themselves  to  the 
utmost  the  redskins  could  be  gaining  but  little  upon  them, 
for  the  trained  white  man  is,  in  point  of  speed  and  endur- 
ance, fairly  a  match  for  the  average  Indian.  They  had  now 
descended  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  edge  of  the  lake 
in  order  to  avoid  the  valleys  and  ravines  running  down 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  201 

from  the  hills.  The  war-whoops  rose  frequently  in  the 
forest  behind  them,  the  Indians  yelling  to  give  those  at 
the  fort  notice  that  the  chase  was  approaching. 

"  If  there  war  any  redskins  left  at  the  f ort,"  Nat  said 
to  James,  "they  would  guess  what  our  game  was;  but  I  ex- 
pect every  redskin  started  out  on  the  hunt,  and  the  French 
soldiers  when  they  hear  the  yelling  won't  know  what  to 
make  of  it,  and  if  they  do  anything  they  will  shut  them- 
selves up  in  their  fort." 

Great  as  were  the  exertions  which  the  scouts  were  making, 
they  could  tell  by  the  sound  of  the  war-whoops  that  some 
at  least  of  the  Indians  were  gaining  upon  them.  Accus- 
tomed as  every  man  of  the  party  was  to  the  fatigues  of  the 
forest,  the  strain  was  telling  upon  them  all  now.  For  twelve 
miles  they  had  run  almost  at  the  top  of  their  speed,  and 
the  short  panting  breath,  the  set  faces,  and  the  reeling 
steps  showed  that  they  were  nearly  at  the  end  of  their 
powers.  Still  they  held  on  with  scarcely  any  diminishing 
of  speed.  Each  man  knew  that  if  he  fell  he  must  die,  for 
his  comrades  could  do  nothing  for  him,  and  no  pause  was 
possible  until  the  boats  were  gained. 

They  were  passing  now  under  the  French  works,  for  they 
could  hear  shouting  on  the  high  ground  to  the  right  and 
knew  that  the  troops  left  in  the  fort  had  taken  the  alarm; 
but  they  were  still  invisible,  for  it  was  only  at  the  point  of 
the  promontory  that  the  clearing  had  been  carried  down  to 
the  water's  edge.  A  low  cry  of  relief  burst  from  the  men 
as  they  saw  the  forest  open  before  them,  and  a  minute  later 
they  were  running  along  in  the  open  near  the  shore  of  the 
lake  at  the  extremity  of  the  promontory,  where,  hauled  up 
upon  the  shore,  lay  a  number  of  canoes  and  flat-bottomed 
boats  used  for  the  conveyance  of  troops.  A  number  of 
boatmen  were  standing  near,  evidently  alarmed  by  the  war- 
cries  in  the  woods.  When  they  saw  the  party  approaching 
they  at  once  made  for  the  fort  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  on 


202  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

the  high  ground,  and  almost  at  the  same  moment  a  drop* 
ping  fire  of  musketry  opened  from  the  intrenchments. 

"  Smash  the  canoes,"  Rogers  said,  setting  the  example 
by  administering  a  vigorous  kick  to  one  of  them. 

The  others  followed  his  example,  and  in  a  few  seconds 
every  one  of  the  frail  barks  was  stove  in. 

"  Two  of  the  boats  will  hold  us  well,"  Rogers  said ;  "  quick, 
into  the  water  with  them  and  out  with  the  oars.  Ten  row 
in  each  boat,  let  the  other  five  handle  their  rifles  and  keep 
back  the  Indians  as  they  come  up.  Never  mind  the  sol- 
diers." For  the  white-coated  troops,  perceiving  the  scout's 
intention,  were  now  pouring  out  from  the  intrenchments. 

A  couple  of  minutes  sufficed  for  the  men  to  launch  the 
boats  and  take  their  seats,  and  the  oars  dipped  in  the  water 
just  as  three  or  four  Indians  dashed  out  from  the  edge  of 
the  forest. 

"We  have  won  the  race  by  three  minutes,"  Rogers  said 
exultantly;  "  stretch  to  your  oars,  lads,  and  get  out  of  range 
as  soon  as  you  can." 

The  Indians  began  to  fire  as  soon  as  they  perceived  the 
boats.  They  were  scarcely  two  hundred  yards  away,  but 
they,  like  the  white  men,  were  panting  with  fatigue,  and 
their  bullets  flew  harmlessly  by. 

"  Don't  answer  yet,"  Rogers  ordered,  as  some  of  the  scouts 
were  preparing  to  fire.  "  Wait  till  your  hands  get  steady 
and  then  fire  at  the  French;  there  won't  be  many  of  the 
redskins  up  yet/' 

The  boats  were  not  two  hundred  yards  from  shore  when 
the  French  soldiers  reached  the  edge  of  the  water  and 
opened  fire,  but  at  this  distance  their  weapons  were  of  little 
avail,  and  though  the  bullets  splashed  thickly  around  the 
boats  no  one  was  injured,  while  several  of  the  French  were 
seen  to  drop  from  the  fire  of  the  scouts.  Another  hundred 
yards  and  the  boats  were  beyond  any  danger  save  from  a 
chance  shot.    The  Indians  still  continued  firinc  and  several 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  203 

of  their  shots  struck  the  boats,  one  of  the  rowers  being  hit 
in  the  shoulder. 

"  Lay  in  your  rifles  and  man  the  other  two  oars  in  each 
boat/'  Rogers  said;  "the  French  are  launching  some  of 
their  bateaux,  but  we  have  got  a  fair  start  and  they  won't 
overtake  us  before  we  reach  the  opposite  point.  They  are 
fresher  than  we  are,  but  soldiers  are  no  good  rowing;  be- 
sides, they  are  sure  to  crowd  the  boats  so  that  they  won't 
have  a  chance." 

Five  or  six  boats,  each  crowded  with  men,  started  in 
pursuit,  but  they  were  fully  half  a  mile  behind  when  the 
two  English  boats  reached  the  shore. 

"  Now  it  is  our  turn,"  Rogers  said  as  the  men,  leaping 
.ashore,  took  their  places  behind  trees.  As  soon  as  the 
French  boats  came  within  range  a  steady  fire  was  opened 
upon  them.  Confusion  was  at  once  apparent  among  them, 
oars  were  seen  to  drop,  and  as  the  fire  continued  the  rowing 
ceased;  another  minute  and  the  boats  were  turned  and 
were  soon  rowing  out  again  into  the  lake. 

"There's  the  end  of  that,"  Rogers  said,  "and  a  close 
shave  it  has  been.  Well,  youngster,  what  do  you  think  of 
your  first  scout  in  the  woods  ?  " 

"  It  has  been  sharper  than  I  bargained  for,"  James  said, 
laughing,  "  and  was  pretty  near  being  the  last  as  well  as  the 
first.  If  it  hadn't  been  for  your  taking  us  to  the  boats  I 
don't  think  many  of  us  would  have  got  back  to  Fort  Henry 
to  tell  the  tale." 

"  There  is  generally  some  way  out  of  a  mess,"  Rogers  said, 
"  if  one  does  but  think  of  it.  If  I  had  not  thought  of  the 
French  boats  we  should  have  scattered,  and  a  few  of  us. 
would  have  been  overtaken,  no  doubt;  but  even  an  Indian 
cannot  follow,  a  single  trail  as  fast  as  a  man  can  run,  and  I 
reckon  most  of  us  would  have  carried  our  scalps  back  to 
camp.  Still  with  the  woods  lull  of  Iroquois  they  must  have 
had  some  of  us,  and  I  hate  losing  a  man  if  it  can  be  helped. 


204  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

We  are  well  out  of  ifc.  Now,  lads,  we  had  better  be  tramp« 
ing.  There  are  a  lot  more  bateaux  coming  out,  and  I 
expect  by  the  rowing  they  are  manned  by  Indians.  The 
redskin  is  a  first-rate  hand  with  the  paddle,  but  is  no  good 
with  an  oar." 

The  man  who  had  been  hit  in  the  shoulder  had  already 
had  his  wound  bandaged.  There  was  a  minute's  consulta- 
tion as  to  whether  they  should  continue  their  journej  in 
the  boats,  some  of  the  men  pointing  out  that  they  had 
proved  themselves  faster  than  their  pursuers. 

"  That  may  be,"  Rogers  said;  "  but  the  Indians  will  land 
and  follow  along  the  shore  and  will  soon  get  ahead  of  us, 
for  they  can  travel  quicker  than  we  can  row,  and  for  aught 
we  know  there  may  be  a  whole  fleet  ox  canoes  higher  up 
Lake  George  which  would  cut  us  off.  No,  lads,  the  safest 
way  is  to  keep  on  through  the  woods." 

The  decision  was  received  without  question,  and  the  party 
at  once  started  at  a  swinging  trot,  which  was  kept  up  vith 
occasional  intervals  of  walking  throughout  the  day.  At 
nightfall  their  course  was  changed,  and  after  journeying 
another  two  or  three  miles  a  halt  was  called,  for  Rogers  was 
sure  that  the  Indians  would  abandon  pursuit  when  night 
came  on  without  their  having  overtaken  the  fugitives. 
Before  daybreak  the  march  was  continued,  and  in  the  after- 
noon the  party  arrived  at  Fort  William  Henry. 

James  now  determined  to  leave  the  force  and  return 
at  once  to  New  York,  where  his  letters  were  to  be  addressed 
to  him.  He  took  with  him  a  letter  from  General  Johnson 
speaking  in  the  warmest  tones  of  his  conduct.  On  arriving 
at  New  York  he  found  at  the  post-office  there  a  great  pile 
of  letters  awaiting  him.  They  had  been  written  after  the 
receipt  of  his  letter  at  the  end  of  July,  telling  those  at 
home  of  his  share  in  Braddock's  disaster. 

"  I  little  thought,  my  boy,"  his  mother  wrote,  "  when  we 
received  your  letter  saying  that  you  got  your  discharge 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  205 

from  the  ship  and  were  going  with  an  expedition  against 
the  French,  that  you  were  going  to  run  into  such  terrible 
danger.  Fortunately  the  same  vessel  which  brought  the 
news  of  General  Braddock's  defeat  also  brought  your  letter, 
and  we  learned  the  news  only  a  few  hours  before  your  letter 
reached  us.  It  was,  as  you  may  imagine,  a  time  of  terrible 
anxiety  to  us,  and  the  squire  and  Aggie  were  almost  as  anx- 
ious as  I  was.  Mr.  Wilks  did  his  best  to  cheer  us  all,  but  I 
could  see  that  he  too  felt  it  very  greatly.  However,  when 
your  letter  came  we  were  all  made  happy  again,  though  of 
course  we  cannot  be  but  anxious,  as  you  say  you  are  just 
going  to  join  another  expedition;  still  we  must  hope  that 
that  will  do  better,  as  it  won't  be  managed  by  regular  sol- 
diers. Mr.  Wilks  was  quite  angry  at  what  you  said  about 
the  folly  of  making  men  stand  in  a  line  to  be  shot  at,  he 
thinks  so  much  of  drill  and  discipline.  The  squire  and  he 
have  been  arguing  quite  fiercely  about  it;  but  the  squire 
gets  the  best  of  the  argument,  for  the  dreadful  way  in  which 
the  soldiers  were  slaughtered  shows  that  though  that  sort 
of  fighting  may  be  good  in  other  places,  it  is  not  suited  for 
fighting  these  wicked  Indians  in  the  woods.  The  squire 
has  himself  been  up  to  London  about  your  commission,  and 
has  arranged  it  all.  He  has,  as  he  will  tell  you  in  his  letter, 
got  you  a  commission  in  the  regiment  commanded  by  Col- 
onel Otway,  which  is  to  go  out  next  spring.  He  was  intro- 
duced to  the  commander-in-chief  by  his  friend,  and  told 
him  that  you  had  been  acting  as  Colonel  Washington's  aide- 
de-camp  with  General  Braddock,  and  that  you  have  now 
gone  to  join  General  Johnson's  army;  so  the  duke  said  that 
though  you  would  be  gazetted  at  once  and  would  belong  to 
the  regiment,  you  might  as  well  stay  out  there  and  see  ser- 
vice until  it  arrived,  and  that  it  would  be  a  great  advantage 
to  the  regiment  to  have  an  officer  with  experience  in  Indian- 
fighting  with  it.  I  cried  when  he  brought  me  back  the 
news,  for  I  had  hoped  to  have  you  back  again  with  us  for 


206  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

a  bit  before  you  went  soldiering  for  good.  However,  the 
squire  seems  to  think  it  is  a  capital  thing  for  you.  Mr. 
Wilks  thinks  so  too,  so  I  suppose  I  must  put  up  with  it; 
but  Aggie  agrees  with  me  and  says  it  is  too  bad  that  she 
should  never  have  seen  you  once  from  the  time  when  she 
saw  you  in  that  storm.  She  is  a  dear  little  girl,  and  is  grow- 
ing fast.  I  think  she  must  have  grown  quite  an  inch  in  the 
five  months  you  have  been  away.  She  sends  her  love  to 
you,  and  says  you  must  take  care  of  yourself  for  her  sake." 

The  squire  in  his  letter  repeated  the  news  Mrs.  Walsham 
had  given. 

"  You  are  now  an  ensign,"  he  said,  "  and  if  you  go  into 
any  more  fights  before  your  regiment  arrives  you  must,  Mr. 
Wilks  said,  get  a  proper  uniform  made  for  you,  and  fight 
as  a  king's  officer.  I  send  you  a  copy  of  the  gazette,  where 
you  will  see  your  name." 

Mr.  Wilks's  letter  was  a  long  one.  "  I  felt  horribly  guilty, 
dear  Jim,"  he  said,  "when  the  news  came  of  Braddock's 
dreadful  defeat.  I  could  hardly  look  your  dear  mother  in 
the  face,  and  though  the  kind  lady  would  not,  I  know,  say 
a  word  to  hurt  my  feelings  for  the  world,  yet  I  could  see 
that  she  regarded  me  as  a  monster,  for  it  was  on  my  advice 
that,  instead  of  coming  home  when  you  got  your  discharge, 
you  remained  out  there  and  took  part  in  this  unfortunate 
expedition.  I  could  see  Aggie  felt  the  same,  and  though  I 
did  my  best  to  keep  up  their  spirits,  I  had  a  terrible  time 
of  it  until  your  letter  arrived  saying  you  were  safe.  If  it 
had  not  come  I  do  believe  that  I  should  have  gone  quietly 
off  to  Exeter,  hunted  up  my  box  again,  and  hired  a  boy  to 
push  it  for  me,  for  I  am  not  so  strong  as  I  was.  But  I 
would  rather  have  tramped  about  for  the  rest  of  my  life 
than  remain  there  under  your  mother's  reproachful  eye. 
However,  thank  God,  you  came  through  it  all  right,  and 
after  such  a  lesson  I  should  hope  that  we  shall  never  have 
repetition  of  such  a  disaster  as  that.     As  an  old  soldier  I 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  207 

cannot  agree  with  what  you  say  about  the  uselessness  of  drill, 
even  for  fighting  in  a  forest.  It  must  accustom  men  to 
listen  to  the  voice  of  their  officers  and  to  obey  orders 
promptly  and  quickly,  and  I  cannot  but  think  that  if  the 
troops  had  gone  forward  at  a  brisk  double  they  would  have 
driven  the  Indians  before  them.  As  to  the  whooping  and 
yells  you  talk  so  much  about,  I  should  think  nothing  of 
them ;  they  are  no  more  to  be  regarded  than  the  shrieks  of 
women  or  the  braying  of  donkeys/' 

James  smiled  as  he  read  this,  and  thought  that  if  the  old 
soldier  had  heard  that  chaos  of  blood-curdling  cries  break 
out  in  the  still  depth  of  the  forest  he  would  not  write  of 
them  with  such  equanimity. 

"  You  will  have  heard  from  the  squire  that  you  are  ga- 
zetted to  Otway's  regiment,  which  with  others  is  to  cross 
the  Atlantic  in  a  few  weeks,  when  it  is  generally  supposed 
war  will  be  formally  declared.  Your  experience  will  be  of 
great  use  to  you,  and  ought  to  get  you  a  good  staff  appoint- 
ment. I  expect  that  in  the  course  of  a  year  there  will  be 
fighting  on  a  large  scale  on  your  side  of  the  water,  and  the 
English  ought  to  get  the  best  of  it,  for  France  seems  at 
present  to  be  thinking  a  great  deal  more  of  her  affairs  in 
Europe  than  of  her  colonies  in  America.  So  much  the 
better,  for  if  we  can  take  Canada  we  shall  strike  a  heavy 
blow  to  her  trade,  and  some  day  North  America  is  going 
to  be  an  important  place  in  the  world." 

The  letters  had  been  lying  there  several  weeks,  and  James 
knew  that  Otway's  regiment  had  with  the  others  arrived 
a  few  days  before,  and  had  already  marched  for  Albany. 
Thinking  himself  entitled  to  a  little  rest  after  his  labors, 
he  remained  for  another  week  in  New  York  while  his  uni- 
form was  being  made,  and  then  took  a  passage  in  a  trading 
boat  up  to  Albany.  Scarcely  had  he  landed  when  a  young 
officer  in  the  same  uniform  met  him.  He  looked  sur- 
prised, hesitated,  and  then  stopped. 


208  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"I  see  you  belong  to  our  regiment,"  he  said;  "have  you 
just  arrived  from  England  ?    What  ship  did  you  come  in  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  out  here  some  time,"  James  replied.  "  My 
name  is  Walsham.  I  believe  I  was  gazetted  to  your  regi- 
ment some  months  ago,  but  I  only  heard  the  news  on  my 
arrival  at  New  York  last  week." 

"  Oh,  you  are  Walsham  ! "  the  young  officer  said.  "  My 
name  is  Edwards.  I  am  glad  to  meet  you.  We  have  been 
wondering  when  you  would  join  us,  and  envying  your  luck 
in  seeing  so  much  of  the  fighting  out  here.  Our  regiment 
is  encamped  about  half  a  mile  from  here.  If  you  will  let  me 
I  will  go  back  with  you  and  introduce  you  to  our  fellows." 

James  thanked  him,  and  the  two  walked  along  talking 
together.  James  learned  that  there  were  already  five  en- 
signs junior  to  himself,  his  new  acquaintance  being  one  of 
them,  as  the  regiment  had  been  somewhat  short  of  officers, 
and  the  vacancies  had  been  filled  up  shortly  before  it  sailed. 

"  Of  course  we  must  call  on  the  colonel  first,"  Mr.  Ed- 
wards said.  "  He  is  a  capital  fellow,  and  very  much  liked 
in  the  regiment." 

Colonel  Otway  received  James  with  great  cordiality. 

"  We  are  very  glad  to  get  you  with  us,  Mr.  Walsham," 
he  said,  "  and  we  consider  it  a  credit  to  the  regiment  to 
have  a  young  officer  who  has  been  three  times  mentioned 
in  dispatches.  You  will,  too,  be  a  great  service  to  us,  and 
will  be  able  to  give  us  a  good  many  hints  as  to  this  Indian 
method  of  fighting  which  Braddock's  men  found  so 
terrible." 

"  It  is  not  formidable,  sir,  when  you  are  accustomed  to 
it ;  but,  unfortunately,  General  Braddock  forced  his  men  to 
fight  in  regular  fashion — that  is  to  stand  up  and  be  shot  at, 
and  that  mode  of  fighting  in  the  woods  is  fatal.  A  hundred 
redskins  would  be  more  than  a  match  in  the  forest  for  ten 
times  their  number  of  white  troops  who  persisted  in  fight- 
ing in  such  a  ridiculous  way;   but  fighting  in  their  own 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  209 

■way,  white  men  are  a  match  for  the  redskins.  Indeed,  the 
frontiersmen  can  thrash  the  Indians  even  if  they  are  two 
or  three  to  one  against  them." 

"  You  have  been  in  this  last  affair  on  the  lake,  have  you 
not,  Mr.  "Walsham  ?     I  heard  you  were  with  Johnson." 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  was,  and  at  the  beginning  it  was  very  nearly  a 
repetition  of  Braddock's  disaster;  but  after  being  surprised 
and  at  first  beaten,  the  column  that  went  out  made  such  a 
stout  fight  of  it  that  it  gave  us  time  to  put  the  camp  in  a 
state  of  defence.  Had  the  Indians  made  a  rush,  I  think 
they  would  have  carried  it;  but  as  they  contented  them- 
selves with  keeping  up  a  distant  fire,  the  provincials,  who 
were  all  young  troops  quite  unaccustomed  to  fighting  and 
wholly  without  drill  or  discipline,  gradually  got  steady  and 
at  length  sallied  out  and  beat  them  decisively." 

"  I  will  not  detain  you  now,"  the  colonel  said ;  "  but  I 
hope  ere  long  you  will  give  us  a  full  and  detailed  account 
of  the  fighting  you  have  been  in,  with  your  idea  of  the  best 
way  of  training  regular  troops  for  the  sort  of  work  we  have 
before  us.  Mr.  Edwards  will  take  you  over  to  the  mess 
and  introduce  you  to  your  brother  officers." 

James  was  well  received  by  the  officers  of  his  regiment, 
and  soon  found  himself  perfectly  at  home  with  them.  He 
had  to  devote  some  hours  every  day  to  acquiring  the  mys- 
teries of  drill.  It  was  to  him  somewhat  funny  to  see  the 
pains  expended  in  assuring  that  each  movement  should  be 
performed  with  mechanical  accuracy;  but  he  understood 
that,  although  useless  for  such  warfare  as  that  which  they 
had  before  them,  great  accuracy  in  details  was  necessary 
for  insuring  uniformity  of  movement  among  large  masses  of 
men  in  an  open  country.  Otherwise  the  time  passed  very 
pleasantly.  James  soon  became  a  favorite  in  the  regiment, 
and  the  young  officers  were  never  tired  of  questioning  him 
concerning  the  redskins  and  their  manner  of  fighting. 
There  were  plenty  of  amusements;  the  snow  was  deep  on 
J4 


210  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

the  ground  now,  and  the  officers  skated,  practised  with 
snow-shoes,  and  drove  in  sleighs.  Occasionally  they  got  up 
a  dance,  and  the  people  of  Albany  and  the  settlers  round 
vied  with  each  other  in  their  hospitality  to  the  officers. 

One  day  in  February  an  orderly  brought  a  message  to 
James  Walsham  that  the  colonel  wished  to  speak  to  him. 

"  Walsham,"  he  said,  "  I  may  tell  you  privately  that  the 
regiment  is  likely  to  form  part  of  the  expedition  which  is 
being  fitted  out  in  England  against  Louisbourg,  in  Cape 
Breton,  the  key  of  Canada;  a  considerable  number  of  the 
troops  from  the  province  will  accompany  it." 

"  But  that  will  leave  the  frontier  here  altogether  open  to 
the  enemy,"  James  said  in  surprise. 

"  That  is  my  own  opinion,  Walsham.  Louisbourg  is  al- 
together outside  the  range  of  the  present  struggle,  and  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  British  force  should  be  employed  at 
striking  at  a  vital  point.  However,  that  is  not  to  the  pur- 
pose. It  is  the  Earl  of  Loudon's  plan.  However,  it  is  mani- 
fest, as  you  say,  that  the  frontier  will  be  left  terribly  open, 
and  therefore  two  companies  of  each  of  the  regiments  going 
will  be  left.  Naturally,  as  you  are  the  only  officer  in  the 
regiment  who  has  had  any  experience  in  this  forest  warfare 
you  would  be  one  of  those  left  here;  but  as  an  ensign  you 
would  not  have  much  influence,  and  I  think  that  it  would 
be  at  once  more  useful  to  the  service  and  more  pleasant  for 
yourself  if  I  can  obtain  for  you  something  like  a  roving 
commission.     What  do  you  think  of  that  ?  " 

"  I  should  greatly  prefer  that,  sir,"  James  said  gratefully. 

"  The  general  is  a  little  vexed,  I  know,"  the  colonel  went 
on,  "at  the  numerous  successes  and  daring  feats  gained  by 
Kogers  and  the  other  leaders  of  the  companies  of  scouts, 
while  the  regulars  have  not  had  an  opportunity  to  fire  a 
shot,  and  I  think  that  he  would  at  once  accept  the  proposal, 
were  I  to  make  it  to  him,  that  a  company  to  be  called  the 
Eoyal  Scouts  should  be  formed  of  volunteers  taken  from  the 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  211 

various  regiments,  and  that  you  should  have  the  com- 
mand." 

"  Thank  you,  sir/'  James  said,  "  and  I  should  like  it  above 
all  things ;  but  I  fear  that  we  should  have  no  chance  what- 
ever of  rivalling  the  work  of  Eogers  and  the  other  partisan 
leaders.  These  men  are  all  trained  to  the  work  of  the 
woods,  accustomed  to  fight  Indians,  equally  at  home  in  a 
canoe  or  in  the  forest.  I  have  had,  as  you  are  good  enough 
to  say,  some  experience  in  the  work,  but  I  am  a  mere  child 
by  their  side,  and  were  I  to  lead  fifty  English  soldiers  in 
the  forest  I  fear  that  none  of  us  would  ever  return." 

"*  Yes,  but  I  should  not  propose  that  you  should  engage 
in  enterprises  of  that  sort,  Walsham.  My  idea  is  that  al- 
though you  would  have  an  independent  command  with  very 
considerable  freedom  of  action,  you  would  act  in  connection 
with  the  regular  troops;  the  scouts  are  often  far  away  when 
wanted,  leaving  the  posts  open  to  surprise.  They  are  so 
impatient  of  any  discipline  that  they  are  adverse  to  going 
near  the  forts,  except  to  obtain  fresh  supplies.  You,  on 
the  contrary,  would  act  as  the  eyes  of  any  post  which  you 
might  think  threatened  by  the  enemy.  At  present,  for  in- 
stance, Fort  William  Henry  is  the  most  exposed  to  attack. 
You  would  take  your  command  there,  and  would  report 
yourself  to  Major  Eyre,  who  is  in  command.  As  for  service 
there,  your  letter  of  appointment  would  state  that  you  are 
authorized  to  act  independently,  but  that  while  it  would  be 
your  duty  to  obey  the  orders  of  the  commanding  officer, 
you  will  be  authorized  to  offer  such  suggestions  to  him  as 
your  experience  in  Indian  warfare  would  lead  you  to  make. 
You  would  train  your  men  as  scouts.  It  would  be  their 
special  duty  to  guard  the  fort  against  surprise,  and  of  course 
in  case  of  attack  to  take  part  in  its  defence.  In  the  event 
of  the  provincial  scouts  making  any  concerted  movement 
against  a  French  post,  you  would  be  authorized  to  join 
them.     You  would  then  have  the  benefit  of  their  skill  and 


212  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

experience,  and  in  case  of  success  the  army  would  gpt  a 
share  of  the  credit.     What  do  you  think  of  my  plan  ?  " 

"  I  should  like  it  above  all  things,"  James  replied.  "  That 
would  be  precisely  the  duty  which  I  should  select  had  I 
the  choice." 

"  I  thought  so,"  the  colonel  said.  "  I  have  formed  a  very 
high  opinion  of  your  judgment  and  discretion  from  the 
talks  which  we  have  had  together,  and  I  have  spoken 
strongly  in  your  favor  to  the  general,  who  had  promised  me 
that  in  the  event  of  the  army  moving  forward  you  should 
have  an  appointment  on  the  quartermaster-general's  staff  as 
an  intelligence  officer. 

"  Since  I  heard  that  the  main  portion  of  the  army  is  to 
sail  to  Louisbourg  I  have  been  thinking  this  plan  over,  and 
it  certainly  seems  to  me  that  a  corps  such  as  that  that  I 
have  suggested  would  be  of  great  service.  I  should  think 
that  its  strength  should  be  fifty  men.  You  will,  of  course, 
have  another  officer  with  you.  Is  there  any  one  you  would 
like  to  choose,  as  I  may  as  well  take  the  whole  scheme  cut 
and  dried  to  the  general  ?" 

"  I  should  like  Mr.  Edwards,  sir;  he  is  junior  to  me  in  the 
regiment,  and  is  very  active  and  zealous  in  the  service,  and 
I  should  greatly  like  to  be  allowed  to  enlist  temporarily  two 
of  the  scouts  I  have  served  with  in  the  force,  with  power 
for  them  to  take  their  discharge  when  they  wished.  They 
would  be  of  immense  utility  to  me  in  instructing  the  men 
in  their  new  duties,  and  would  add  greatly  to  our  efficiency." 

"  So  be  it,"  the  colonel  said.  "  I  will  draw  out  the  scheme 
on  paper  and  lay  it  before  the  general  to-day." 

In  the  afternoon  James  was  again  sent  for. 

"  The  earl  has  approved  of  my  scheme.  You  will  have 
temporary  rank  as  captain  given  you  in  order  to  place  your 
corps  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  provincial  corps  of 
scouts.  Mr.  Edwards  will  also  have  temporary  rank  as 
lieutenant.     The  men  of  the  six  companies  of  the  three 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  213 

regiments  will  be  paraded  to-morrow  and  asked  for  volun- 
teers for  the  special  service.  If  there  are  more  than  fifty 
offer  you  can  select  your  own  men." 

Accordingly  the  next  morning  the  troops  to  be  left  be- 
hind were  paraded,  and  an  order  was  read  out  saying  that  a 
corps  of  scouts  for  special  service  was  to  be  raised,  and  that 
volunteers  were  requested.  Upward  of  a  hundred  men 
stepped  forward,  and  being  formed  in  line  James  selected 
from  them  fifty  who  appeared  to  him  the  most  hardy,  active, 
and  intelligent-looking.  He  himself  had  that  morning  been 
put  in  orders  as  captain  of  the  new  corps,  and  had  assumed 
the  insignia  of  his  temporary  rank.  The  colonel  had  placed 
at  his  disposal  two  intelligent  young  non-commissioned 
officers. 

The  next  morning  he  marched  with  his  command  for 
Fort  William  Henry.  No  sooner  had  he  left  the  open  coun- 
try and  entered  the  woods  than  he  began  to  instruct  the 
men  in  their  new  duties.  The  whole  of  them  were  thrown 
out  as  skirmishers  and  taught  to  advance  in  Indian  fashion, 
each  man  sheltering  himself  behind  a  tree,  scanning  the 
woods  carefully  ahead,  and  then,  fixing  his  eyes  on  another 
tree  ahead,  to  advance  to  it  at  a  sharp  run  and  shelter  there. 

All  this  was  new  to  the  soldiers,  hitherto  drilled  only  in 
solid  formation  or  in  skirmishing  in  the  open,  and  when, 
at  the  end  of  ten  miles'  skirmishing  through  the  wood,  they 
were  halted  and  ordered  to  bivouac  for  the  night,  James 
felt  that  his  men  were  beginning  to  have  some  idea  of  forest- 
fighting.  The  men  themselves  were  greatly  pleased  with 
their  day's  work.  It  was  a  welcome  change  after  the  long 
monotony  of  life  in  a  standing  camp,  and  the  day's  work 
had  given  them  a  high  opinion  of  the  fitness  of  their  young 
officer  for  command. 

But  the  work  and  instruction  was  not  over  for  the  day. 
Hitherto  none  of  the  men  had  had  any  experience  in  camp- 
ing in  the  open.     James  now  showed  them  how  to  make 


214  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

comfortable  shelters  against  the  cold  with  two  forked  sticks 
and  one  laid  across  them,  and  with  a  few  boughs  and  a 
blanket  laid  over  them,  with  dead  leaves  heaped  round  the 
bottom  and  ends;  and  how  best  to  arrange  their  fires  and 
cook  their  food. 

During  the  following  days  the  same  work  was  repeated, 
and  when,  after  a  week's  marching,  the  force  issued  from 
the  forest  into  the  clearing  around  Fort  William  Henry, 
James  felt  confident  that  his  men  would  be  able  to  hold 
their  own  in  a  brush  with  the  Indians.  Major  Eyre,  to 
whom  James  reported  himself  and  showed  his  appointment 
defining  his  authority  and  duties,  expressed  much  satisfac- 
tion at  the  arrival  of  the  reinforcement. 

"  There-are  rumors  brought  here  by  the  scouts,"  he  said, 
"that  a  strong  force  will  ere  long  come  down  from  Crown 
Point  to  Ticonderoga,  and  that  we  shall  be  attacked.  Now 
that  the  lake  is  frozen  regular  troops  could  march  without 
difficulty,  and  my  force  here  is  very  inadequate  considering 
the  strength  with  which  the  French  will  attack.  None  of 
my  officers  or  men  have  any  experience  of  the  Indian 
methods  of  attack,  and  your  experience  will  be  very  valu- 
able. It  is  a  pity  that  they  do  not  give  me  one  of  these 
companies  of  scouts  permanently.  Sometimes  one  or  other 
of  them  is  here,  but  often  I  am  without  any  of  the  provin- 
cials, and  although  I  have  every  confidence  in  my  officers 
and  men,  one  cannot  but  feel  that  it  is  a  great  disadvantage 
to  be  exposed  to  the  attack  of  an  enemy  of  whose  tactics 
one  is  altogether  ignorant.  You  will,  of  course,  encamp 
your  men  inside  the  fort.  I  see  you  have  brought  no  bag- 
gage with  you,  but  I  have  some  spare  tents  here  which  are 
at  your  service." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  James  replied.  "  I  shall  be  glad  to  put 
the  men  under  cover  while  they  are  here,  but  I  intend  to 
practise  them  as  much  as  possible  in  scouting  and  camping 
in  the  woods,  and  although  I  shall  always  be  in  the  neigh- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  215 

borhood  of  the  fort,  I  do  not  propose  always  to  return  here 
at  night.  Are  any  of  Captain  Rogers''  corps  at  present  at 
the  fort  ?  " 

"  Some  of  them  came  in  last  night/'  Major  Eyre  replied. 

"  I  have  authority/'  James  said,  "  to  enlist  two  of  them 
in  my  corps." 

Major  Eyre  smiled. 

"  I  do  not  think  you  will  find  any  of  them  ready  to  sub- 
mit to  military  discipline  or  to  put  qgi  a  red  coat." 

"  They  are  all  accustomed  to  obey  orders  promptly  enough 
when  at  work,"  James  said,  "though  there  is  no  attempt  at 
discipline  when  off  duty.  You  see  them  at  their  worst  here. 
There  is,  of  course,  nothing  like  military  order  in  the  woods, 
but  obedience  is  just  as  prompt  as  among  oar  troops.  As  to 
the  uniform,  I  agree  with  you,  but  on  that  head  I  should 
not  be  particular.  I  can  hardly  fancy  any  of  the  scouts 
buttoned  tightly  up  with  stiff  collars;  but  as,  after  all,  al- 
though they  are  to  be  enlisted,  they  will  be  attached  to  the 
corps  rather  than  be  regular  members  of  it,  I  do  not  think 
I  need  insist  upon  the  uniform." 

After  leaving  the  major,  James  saw  to  the  pitching  of 
the  tents  and  the  comforts  of  his  men,  and  when  he  had 
done  so  strolled  off  toward  a  group  of  scouts  who  were 
watching  his  proceedings,  and  among  whom  he  recognized 
the  two  men  for  whom  he  was  looking.  He  received  a  cor- 
dial greeting  from  all  who  had  taken  part  in  his  previous 
adventures  with  Captain  Rogers'  band. 

"And  so  you  are  in  command  of  this  party  ?  "  Nat  said. 
"  I  asked  one  of  the  men  just  now,  and  he  said  you  were  the 
captain.  You  are  young  to  be  a  captain,  but  at  any  rate 
it's  a  good  thing  to  have  a  king's  officer  here  who  knows 
something  about  the  woods.  The  rest  ain't  no  more  idea 
of  them  than  nothing." 

"  I  want  to  chat  to  you,  Nat,  and  also  to  Jonathan,  if  you 
will  come  across  with  me  to  my  tent." 


216  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"  I'm  agreeable/'  Nat  said;  and  the  two  scouts  walked 
across  to  the  tent  with  James.  Lieutenant  Edwards,  who 
shared  the  tent  with  him,  was  inside  arranging  a  few  things 
which  Major  Eyre  had  sent  down  for  their  use. 

"  Edwards,  these  are  the  two  scouts,  Nat  and  Jonathan, 
of  whom  you  have  often  heard  me  speak.  Now  let  us  sit 
down  and  have  a  chat.  There  is  some  first-rate  rum  in  that 
bottle,  Nat,  there  are  two  tin  pannikins,  and  there  is  water 
in  that  keg. 

"  Now,  Nat,"  he  went  on  when  the  party  were  seated  on 
blankets  laid  on  the  ground,  "  this  corps  of  mine  has  been 
raised  specially  to  act  as  scouts  round  this  or  any  other  fort 
which  may  be  threatened,  or  to  act  as  the  advanced  guard 
of  a  column  of  troops." 

"But  what  do  they  know  of  scouting?"  Nat  said  con- 
temptuously.   "  They  don't  know  no  more  than  children." 

"  They  don't  know  much,  but  they  are  active  fellows  and 
ready  to  learn.  I  think  you  will  find  that  already  they 
have  a  pretty  fair  idea  of  fighting  in  Indian  fashion  in  the 
woods,  and  as  I  have  authority  to  draw  extra  supplies  of 
ball  cartridge,  I  hope  in  a  few  weeks  to  make  fair  shots  of 
them.  You  have  taught  me  something  of  forest  ways,  and 
I  shall  teach  them  all  I  know;  but  we  want  better  teachers, 
and  I  want  to  propose  to  you  and  Jonathan  to  join  the 
corps." 

"  What,  and  put  on  a  red  coat,  and  choke  ourselves  up 
with  a  stiff  collar!  "  Nat  laughed;  "nice  figures  we  should 
look !     No,  no,  captain,  that  would  never  do." 

"  No,  I  don't  propose  that  you  should  wear  uniform,  Nat. 
I  have  got  a  special  authority  to  enlist  you  and  Jonathan, 
with  the  understanding  that  you  can  take  your  discharge 
whenever  you  like.  There  will  be  no  drilling  in  line  or 
anything  of  that  sort.  It  will  be  just  scouting  work,  the 
same  as  with  Captain  Rogers,  except  that  we  shall  not 
make  long  expeditions  as  he  does,  but  keep  in  the  neigh- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  217 

borhood  of  the  fort.  I  should  want  you  to  act  both  as 
scouts  and  instructors,  to  teach  the  men,  as  you  have  taught 
me,  something  of  woodcraft,  how  to  find  their  way  in  a 
forest,  and  how  to  fight  the  Indians  in  their  own  way,  and 
to  be  up-  to  Indian  devices.  You  will  be  guides  on  the  line 
of  march,  will  warn  me  of  danger,  and  suggest  the  best  plan 
of  meeting  it.  You  will,  in  fact,  be  scouts  attached  to  the 
corps,  only  nominally  you  will  be  members  of  it.  I  know 
your  ways,  and  should  not  exact  any  observance  of  discipline 
more  than  that  which  you  have  with  Eogers,  and  should 
treat  you  in  the  light  of  non-commissioned  officers." 

"  Well,  and  what  do  you  say,  Jonathan  ?"  Nat  said,  turn-, 
ing  to  his  tall  companion.  "  You  and  I  have  both  taken  a 
fancy  to  the  captain  here,  and  though  he  has  picked  up  a 
lot  for  a  young  'un,  and  will  in  time  make  a  first-rate  hand 
in  the  woods,  I  guess  he  won't  make  much  hand  of  it  yet  if 
he  hadn't  got  some  one  as  knows  the  woods  by  his  side.  We 
have  had  a  spell  of  hard  work  of  it  with  Rogers  lately,  and 
I  don't  mind  if  I  have  a  change  for  a  bit  with  the  red-coats." 

"  I  will  go,  of  course,"  Jonathan  said  briefly. 

"Very  well,  then  that's  settled,  captain,"  Nat  said. 
"  Rogers  will  be  in  to-night,  and  I  will  tell  him  we  are 
going  to  transfer  ourselves  over  to  you." 

"  He  won't  mind,  I  hope,"  James  said. 

"He  won't  mind,"  Nat  replied.  "We  ain't  very  particu- 
lar about  times  of  service  in  our  corps.  We  just  comes  and 
goes  pretty  well  as  the  fancy  takes  us.  They  would  never 
get  us  to  join  if  they  wanted  to  get  us  to  bind  down  hard 
and  fast.  Sometimes  they  start  on  an  expedition  fifty 
strong,  next  time  perhaps  not  more  than  thirty  turns  up. 
Is  there  anything  to  do  to  join  the  corps  ?  " 

"  Not  much,  Nat.  I  give  you  each  a  shilling  and  attest 
you,  that  is  to  say,  swear  you  in  to  serve  the  king,  and  in 
your  case  give  you  a  paper  saying  that  you  are  authorized 
to  take  your  discharge  whensoever  it  pleases  you." 


218  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA. 

"  Very  well,  captain;  then  on  those  terms  we  join,  always 
understood  as  we  clon't  have  to  put  on  red  coats." 

The  two  men  were  sworn  in,  and  then  Nat  standing  up 
said: 

"And  now,  captain,  discipline  is  discipline;  what's  your 
orders  ?  " 

James  went  to  the  door  of  the  tent  and  called  the  ser- 
geant. 

"  Sergeant,  these  two  men  are  enlisted  as  scouts  in  the 
corps ;  they  will  draw  rations  and  be  a  regular  part  of  the 
company  like  the  rest,  but  they  will  not  wear  uniform,  act- 
ing only  as  scouts.  They  will  have  the  rank  and  position 
of  corporals,  and  will  specially  instruct  the  men  in  wood- 
craft and  in  the  ways  of  the  Indians.  They  will,  of  course, 
occupy  the  tent  with  the  non-commissioned  officers  and 
will  mess  with  them.  Being  engaged  as  scouts  only  they 
will  in  other  respects  be  free  from  attiring  like  strictness. 
I  trust  that  you  will  do  what  you  can  to  make  them  com- 
fortable." 

The  sergeant  saluted  and  led  the  two  scouts  over  to  the 
tent  occupied  by  himself  and  the  other  non-commissioned 
officers,  and  the  roars  of  laughter  that  issued  from  it  in 
the  course  of  the  evening  at  the  anecdotes  of  the  scouts 
showed  that  the  new-comers  were  likely  to  be  highly  popu- 
lar characters  in  their  mess. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


AN"   ABOKTIVE   ATTACK. 


Three  weeks  passed.  James  kept  iris  men  steadily  at 
work,  and  even  the  scouts  allowed  that  they  made  great 
progress.  Sometimes  they  went  out  in  two  parties  with 
an  officer  and  a  scout  to  each,  and  their  pouches  filled  with 
blank  cartridge.  Each  would  do  its  best  to  surprise  the 
other;  and  when  they  met  a  mimic  fight  would  take  place, 
the  men  sheltering  behind  trees  and  firing  only  when  they 
obtained  a  glimpse  of  an  adversary. 

**  I  did  not  think  that  these  pipe-clayed  soldiers  could 
have  been  so  spry,"  Nat  said  to  James.  "  They  have  picked 
up  wonderfully,  and  I  wouldn't  mind  going  into  an  Indian 
fight  with  them.  They  are  improving  with  their  muskets. 
Their  shooting  yesterday  wasn't  bad  by  no  means.  In  three 
months'  time  they  will  be  as  good  a  lot  to  handle  as  any 
of  the  companies  of  scouts." 

Beside  the  daily  exercises  the  company  did  scouting  work 
at  night,  ten  men  being  out  by  turns  in  the  woods  border- 
ing the  lake.  At  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  on  the  19th 
of  March  Nat  came  into  the  officers'  tent. 

"  Captain,"  he  said, "  get  up.     There's  something  afoot." 

"  "What  is  it,  Nat  ?  "  James  asked  as  he  threw  off  his  rugs. 

"  It's  the  French,  at  least  I  don't  see  who  else  it  can  be. 
It  was  my  turn  to-night  to  go  round  and  look  after  our 
sentries.     When  I  came  to  Jim  Bryan,  who  was  stationed 


220  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

just  at  the  edge  of  the  lake,  I  said  to  him,  'Anything  new, 
Jim  ? '  and  he  says, '  Yes;  seems  to  me  as  I  can  hear  a  ham- 
mering in  the  woods/  I  listens,  and  sure  enough  axes  were 
going.  It  may  be  some  three  miles  down ;  the  night  is  still, 
and  the  ice  brought  the  sound.  e  That's  one  for  you,  Jim,' 
says  I.  '  Them's  axes  sure  enough.'  I  stands  and  looks, 
and  then  a  long  way  down  the  lake  on  the  left  I  sees  a  faint 
glare.  They  had  had  the  sense  to  light  the  fires  where  we 
couldn't  see  them;  but  there  were  the  lights  sure  enough. 
It's  the  French,  captain,  the  redskins  would  never  have 
made  fires  like  that,  and  if  it  had  been  a  party  of  our  scouts 
they  would  have  come  on  here,  and  not  halted  an  hours 
tramp  away.  You  had  best  get  the  troops  under  arms, 
captain.  Who  would  have  thought  they  would  have  been 
such  fools  as  to  light  their  fires  within  sight  of  the  fort ! " 

James  at  once  went  to  Major  Eyre's  quarters  and  aroused 
him,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  garrison  were  all  under  arms. 
Their  strength,  including  James  V/alsham's  corps  and  some 
scouts  of  the  company  of  John  Stark,  numbered  three  hun- 
dred and  forty-six  men,  besides  which  there  were  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty-eight  invalids  in  hospital. 

Two  hours  passed,  and  then  a  confused  sound  as  of  a  great 
body  of  men  moving  on  the  ice  was  heard.  The  ice  was 
bare  of  snow  and  nothing  could  be  seen,  but  the  cannon  on 
the  side  facing  the  lake  at  once  opened  fire  with  grape  and 
round  shot  in  the  direction  of  the  sound. 

After  firing  for  a  few  minutes  they  were  silent.  The 
sound  on  the  ice  could  no  longer  be  heard. 

"  They  have  taken  to  the  woods,"  Nat,  who  had  taken 
up  his  station  next  to  James  Walsham,  said ;  "  it  ain't  likely 
they  would  stop  on  the  ice  with  the  balls  pounding  it  up." 

"  Do  you  think  they  will  attack  before  morning  ?  "  James 
asked. 

"  It  ain't  likely,"  Nat  replied.  "  They  won't  know  the 
positions,  and  such  a  dark  night  as  this  they  wouldn't  be 


THE   WINNING   OF   A   CONTINENT.  221 

able  to  make  out  anything  about  them.  If  they  could 
have  come  straight  along  the  ice  to  the  head  of  the  lake 
here  they  would  have  made  a  dash,  no  doubt;  but  now  they 
find  we  ain't  to  be  caught  asleep  I  expect  they  will  wait 
till  morning/' 

Again  the  sound  of  axes  was  heard  in  the  wood,  and  the 
glare  of  light  appeared  above  the  trees. 

"  There  must  be  a  tidy  lot  of  'em,"  Nat  said. 

"  Do  you  think  it  will  be  any  use  to  go  out  and  try  to 
surprise  them  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit,  captain.  They  are  sure  to  have  a  lot  of  red- 
skins  with  them,  and  they  will  be  lurking  in  the  woods  in 
hopes  that  we  may  try  such  a  move.  No — we  have  got  a 
strong  position  here  and  can  lick  them  three  to  one;  but 
in  the  woods,  except  Stark's  men  and  perhaps  yours,  none 
of  the  others  wouldn't  be  no  good  at  all." 

Major  Eyre  shortly  afterward  sent  for  James,  who  gave 
him  the  opinion  of  the  scout,  and  the  major  then  ordered 
the  troops  to  get  under  shelter  again,  leaving  Stark's  men 
to  act  as  sentries,  for  the  night  was  bitterly  cold. 

It  was  not  until  ten  o'clock  next  day  that  the  French  ap- 
peared, and,  surrounding  the  fort  on  all  sides  except  on  that 
■of  the  lake,  opened  heavy  musketry  fire  upon  it.  They 
were  a  formidable  body.  Vaudreuil,  the  governor  of  Can- 
ada, had  spared  no  pains  to  make  the  blow  a  successful  one. 
The  force  had  been  assembled  at  Crown  Point,  and  numbered 
sixteen  hundred  regulars,  Canadians,  and  Indians.  Every- 
thing needful  for  their  comfort  had  been  provided — over- 
coats, blankets,  bear-skins  to  sleep  on,  and  tarpaulins  to 
cover  them.  They  had  been  provided  with  twelve  days' 
provisions,  which  were  placed  on  hand-sledges  and  drawn 
by  the  troops. 

They  marched  over  the  ice  of  Lake  Champlain  down  to 
Ticonderoga,  where  they  rested  a  week  and  constructed 
three  hundred  scaling-ladders.     Three  days'  further  march 


222  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

up  Lake  George  brought  them  to  the  English  fort.  The 
weak  point  of  the  expedition  was  its  leader,  for  Vaudreuil, 
who  was  himself  a  Canadian,  had  the  greatest  jealousy  of 
the  French  officers,  and  had  intrusted  the  command  of  the 
expedition  to  his  brother  Rigaud. 

The  fire  did  no  damage,  as  the  garrison  lay  sheltered  be- 
hind their  intrenchments,  replying  occasionally  whenever 
the  enemy  mustered  in  force  as  if  with  an  intention  of  at- 
tacking. 

"  I  don't  think  they  mean  business  this  time,  captain," 
Nat  said  in  a  tone  of  disgust.  "Why,  there  are  enough  of 
them  to  eat  us  if  they  could  but  make  up  their  minds  to 
come  on.  They  don't  suppose  they  are  going  to  take  Wil- 
liam Henry  by  blazing  away  at  it  half  a  mile  off ! " 

"Perhaps  they  are  going  to  make  a  night  attack,"  James 
said.  "  They  will  have  learned  all  about  the  position  of  our 
works." 

"May  be  so,"  Nat  replied;  "but  I  don't  think  so.  When 
chaps  don't  attack  at  once,  when  there  are  four  or  five  to 
one,  I  reckon  that  they  ain't  likely  to  attack  at  all.  They 
meant  to  surprise  us,  and  they  haven't,  and  it  seems  to  me 
as  it  has  taken  all  the  heart  out  of  them." 

As  evening  approached  the  fire  ceased.  At  nightfall 
strong  guards  were  placed  round  the  intrenchments,  and 
the  troops  retired  to  their  quarters  ready  to  turn  out  at  a 
minute's  notice.  About  midnight  they  were  called  out; 
there  was  again  a  sound  on  the  lake.  The  cannon  at  once 
opened,  and  as  before  all  was  silent  again. 

"  Look,  Walsham,  look !  "  Edwards  exclaimed.  "  They 
have  set  fire  to  the  sloops." 

As  he  spoke  a  tongue  of  flame  started  up  from  one  of  the 
two  vessels  lying  in  the  ice  close  to  the  shore,  and  almost 
simultaneously  flames  shot  up  from  among  the  boats  drawn 
up  on  the  beach. 

"  That's  redskin  work,"  Nat  exclaimed. 


X 


I 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  223 

"  Come,  lads,"  James  cried,  leaping  down  from  the  low 
earthwork  into  the  ditch.  "  Let  us  save  the  boats  if  we 
can.'"  The  scouts  followed  him  and  ran  down  to  the  shore ; 
but  the  Indians  had  done  their  work  well.  The  two  sloops 
and  many  of  the  boats  were  well  alight,  and  it  was  evident 
at  once  that  long  before  a  hole  could  be  broken  through 
the  ice,  and  bui_kets  brought  down  from  the  fort,  they  would 
be  beyond  all  hopes  of  saving  them.  The  French,  too, 
opened  fire  from  the  woods  bordering  the  lake,  and  as  the 
light  of  the  flames  exposed  his  men  to  the  enemy's  marks- 
men James  at  once  called  them  back  to  the  fort,  and  the 
sloops  and  boats  burned  themselves  out.  At  noon  next  day 
the  French  filed  out  from  the  woods  on  to  the  ice  at  a  dis- 
tance of  over  a  mile. 

"  What  now  ?  "  Edwards  exclaimed.  "  They  surely  don't 
mean  to  be  fo  -  enough  to  march  across  the  ice  to  attack 
us  in  broad  da}*   ;ht." 

"  It  looks  to  me,"  James  replied,  "  as  if  they  wanted  to 
make  a  full  show  of  their  force.  See,  there  is  a  white  flag, 
and  a  party  are  coming  forward." 

An  officer  ai  I  several  men  advanced  toward  the  fort,  and 
Major  Eyre  sent  out  one  of  his  officers  with  an  equal  num- 
ber of  men  to  meet  them.  There  was  a  short  parley  when 
the  parties  came  together,  and  then  the  French  officer  ad- 
vanced toward  the  fort  with  the  English,  his  followers  re- 
maining on  tb  3  ice. 

On  nearing  the  fort  the  French  officer,  Le  Mercier,  chief 
of  the  Canadian  artillery,  was  blindfolded  and  led  to  the  room 
where  Major  Eyre,  with  all  the  British  officers,  was  await- 
ing him.  The  handkerchief  was  then  removed  from  his 
eyes,  and  he  announced  to  the  commandant  that  he  was  the 
bearer  of  a  message  from  the  officer  commanding  the  French 
force,  who,  being  desirous  of  avoiding  an  effusion  of  blood, 
begged  the  English  commander  to  abstain  from  resistance, 
which,  against  a  force  so  superior  to  his  own,  could  but  be 


224  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

useless.  He  offered  the  most  favorable  terms  if  lie  would 
surrender  the  place  peaceably,  but  said  that  if  he  were 
driven  to  make  an  assault  his  Indian  allies  would  unques- 
tionably massacre  the  whole  garrison. 

Major  Eyre  quietly  replied  that  he  intended  to  defend 
himself  to  the  utmost. 

The  envoy  was  again  blindfolded.  When  he  rejoined  the 
French  force  the  latter  at  once  advanced  as  if  to  attack  the 
}Dlace,  but  soon  halted,  and  leaving  the  ice,  opened  a  f  usi- 
lade  from  the  border  of  the  woods,  which  they  kept  up  for 
some  hours,  the  garrison  contemptuously  abstaining  from 
any  reply.  At  night  the  French  were  heard  advancing 
again,  the  sound  coming  from  all  sides.  The  garrison  stood 
to  their  arms,  believing  that  this  time  the  real  attack  was 
about  to  be  made. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  sound,  and  the  garrison,  who 
could  see  nothing  in  the  pitchy  darkness,  fired  wherever 
they  could  hear  a  sound.  Presently  a  bright  light  burst 
up;  the  redskins,  provided  with  fagots  of  resinous  sticks, 
had  crept  up  toward  some  buildings,  consisting  of  several 
store-houses,  a  hospital,  and  sawmill,  and  the  huts  and 
tents  of  the  rangers,  and  having  placed  their  torches  against 
them  set  them  on  fire  and  instantly  retreated.  The  garri- 
son could  do  nothing  to  save  the  buildings,  as  their  efforts 
in  the  absence  of  water  must  be  unavailing,  and  they  would 
have  been  shot  down  by  the  foe  lying  beyond  the  circle  of 
light.  They  therefore  remained  lying  behind  the  intrench- 
ment,  firing  wherever  they  heard  the  slightest  sound,  and 
momentarily  expecting  an  attack;  but  morning  came  with- 
out the  French  advancing,  and  the  garrison  were  then  able 
to  give  their  whole  attention  to  saving  the  buildings  in  the 
fort. 

Some  great  wood-stacks  had  now  ignited,  and  the  burn- 
ing embers  fell  thickly  on  the  huts,  and  for  some  hours  it 
was  only  by  the  greatest  exertions  that  the  troops  were  able 


THE    WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  225 

to  save  the  buildings  from  destruction.  Every  moment 
they  expected  to  he  attacked,  for  had  the  French  advanced 
the  huts  must  have  been  left  to  themselves,  in  which  case 
the  garrison  would  have  found  themselves  shelterless,  and 
all  their  provisions  and  stores  would  have  been  consumed ; 
but  before  noon  the  danger  was  over,  for  not  only  had  the 
fires  begun  to  burn  low  but  a  heavy  snow-storm  set  in. 
All  day  it  continued. 

"  Now  would  be  the  time  for  them  to  attack/'  James  Wal- 
snam  said  to  bis  lieutenant;  "we  can  scarce  see  twenty 
yards  away." 

"Now  is  their  chance,"  Edwards  agreed;  "but  I  don't 
believe  in  their  attacking.  I  can't  think  who  they  have  got 
in  command.  He  ought  to  be  shot,  a  man  with  such  a 
force  as  ne  has  hanging  about  here  for  four  days  when  he 
could  have  carried  the  place  with  a  rush  any  moment." 

"  No,  I  don't  think  they  will  attack,"  James  replied. 
"  Men  who  will  stop  to  light  a  fire  to  warm  themselves  with- 
in sight  of  an  enemy's  fort  they  want  to  surprise  are  not 
likely  to  venture  out  of  shelter  of  their  blankets  in  such  a 
snow  as  this." 

All  day  and  all  night  the  snow  came  down  till  the  ground 
was  covered  to  a  depth  of  over  three  feet.  Early  on  Tues- 
day morning  twenty  volunteers  of  the  French  regulars  made 
a  bold  attempt  to  burn  a  sloop  building  on  the  stacks,  with 
several  store-houses  and  other  structures  near  the  water,  and 
some  hundreds  of  boats  and  canoes  which  were  ranged 
near  them.  They  succeeded  in  firing  the  sloop  and  some 
buildings,  but  James  with  his  scouts  sallied  out  and  forced 
them  to  retreat  with  the  loss  of  five  of  their  number,  and  by 
pulling  down  some  of  the  huts  prevented  the  fire  spreading. 

Next  morning  the  sun  rose  brightly  and  the  white  sheet 

of  the  lake  was  dotted  with  the  French  in  full  retreat  for 

Canada.      Their  total   loss   had   been   eleven   killed   and 

wounded,  while  on  the  English  side  seven  men  had  been 

i5 


226  WITH  WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

wounded,  all  slightly.  Never  was  a  worse  conducted  or 
more  futile  expedition. 

After  this  affair  the  time  passed  slowly  at  Fort  William 
Henry.  Until  the  sun  gained  strength  enough  to  melt  the 
thick  white  covering  of  the  earth  James  practiced  his  men 
in  the  use  of  snow-shoes,  and  as  soon  as  spring  had  fairly 
commenced  resumed  the  work  of  scouting.  This  was  done 
only  as  an  exercise,  for  there  was  no  fear  that  after  such  a 
humiliating  failure  the  French  would  for  some  time  to 
come  attempt  another  expedition  against  the  fort. 

In  the  autumn  of  1756  General  Montcalm  had  come  out 
from  France  to  take  the  command  of  the  French  troops. 
Few  of  the  superior  officers  of  the  French  army  cared  to 
take  the  command  in  a  country  where  the  work  was  hard 
and  rough  and  little  glory  was  to  be  obtained.  Therefore 
the  minister  of  war  was  able  for  once  to  choose  an  officer 
fitted  for  the  post,  instead  of  being  obliged,  as  usual,  to  fill 
up  the  appointment  by  a  court  favorite. 

The  Marquis  of  Montcalm  was  born  at  the  chateau  ,of 
Candiac,  near  Nimes,  on  the  29th  of  February,  1712.  At 
the  age  of  fifteen,  up  to  which  time  he  had  studied  hard, 
he  entered  the  army.  Two  years  later  he  became  a  captain, 
and  was  first  under  fire  at  the  siege  of  Philipsbonrg.  In 
1736  he  married  Mademoiselle  Du  Boulay,  who  brought 
him  influential  connections  and  some  property.  In  1741 
Montcalm  took  part  in  the  campaign  in  Bohemia.  Two 
years  later  he  was  made  colonel,  and  passed  unharmed 
through  the  severe  campaign  of  1744. 

In  the  following  year  he  fought  in  the  campaign  in  Italy, 
and  in  1746  was  wounded  at  the  disastrous  action  at  Pia- 
cenza,  where  he  twice  raflied  his  regiment,  received  five 
sabre  cuts,  and  was  made  prisoner.  He  was  soon  liberated 
on  parole,  and  was  promoted  in  the  following  year  to  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  being  exchanged  for  an  offi- 
cer of  similar  rank  rejoined  the  army,  and  was  again  wounded 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  227 

by  a  musket-shot.  Shortly  afterward  "the  peace  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  was  signed,  and  Montcalm  remained  living  quietly 
with  his  family,  to  whom  he  was  tenderly  attached,  until 
informed  by  the  minister  of  war  that  he  had  selected  him 
to  command  the  troops  in  North  America  with  the  rank  of 
major-general. 

The  Chevalier  de  Levis  was  appointed  second  in  com- 
mand. No  sooner  did  Montcalm  arrive  in  America  than 
difficulties  arose  between  him  and  the  Marquis  de  VaudreuiL 
the  governor,  who  had  hoped  to  have  himself  received  the 
appointment  of  commander  of  the  French  forces,  and  who, 
in  virtue  of  his  office,  commanded  the  Canadian  militia. 

From  first  to  last  this  man  opposed  and  thwarted  Mont- 
calm, doing  all  in  his  power  to  injure  him  by  reports  to 
France  in  his  disfavor.  The  misfortunes  which  befell 
France  during  the  war  were  in  no  slight  degree  due  to  this 
divided  authority  and  to  the  obstacles  thrown  in  the  way 
of  Montcalm  by  the  governor.  Montcalm's  first  blow 
against  the  English  was  struck  in  August,  1756,  six  months 
before  the  attack  on  Fort  William  Henry,  which  had  been 
arranged  by  Vaudreuil. 

Three  battalions  of  regular  troops,  with  700  Canadians 
and  250  Indians,  with  a  strong  force  of  artillery,  were 
quietly  concentrated  at  Fort  Frontenac,  and  were  inter- ded 
for  an  attack  upon  the  important  English  post  of  Oswego. 
Fighting  had  been  going  on  in  this  neighborhood  for  some 
time,  and  it  was  from  Oswego  that  Shirley  had  intended  to 
act  against  Niagara  and  Frontenac.  That  enterprise  had 
fallen  through  owing  to  Shirley  having  been  deprived  of 
the  command;  but  a  sharp  fight  had  taken  place  between 
Colonel  Bradstreet  and  his  armed  boatmen  and  1,100 
French,  who  were  beaten  off. 

Oswego  was  a  place  of  extreme  importance.  It  was  the 
only  English  post  on  Ontario,  situated  as  it  was  toward  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  lake.     So  Ion  a:  as  it  remained  in 


228  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

their  possession  it  was  a  standing  menace  against  the  whole 
line  of  communications  of  the  French  with  the  south. 
Owing  to  gross  neglect  the  fort  had  never  heen  placed  in 
a  really  defensive  condition.  The  garrison  was  small  and 
crippled  with  the  fever,  which  had  carried  off  great  numbers 
of  them.     The  remainder  were  ill-fed  and  discontented. 

On  the  12th  of  August  the  Earl  of  Loudon  sent  Colonel 
Webb  with  the  44th  Eegiment  and  some  of  Bradstreet's 
boatmen  to  reinforce  Oswego.  They  should  have  started  a 
month  before,  and  had  they  done  so  would  have  been  in 
time;  but  confusion  and  misunderstanding  had  arisen  from 
a  change  in  command.  Webb  had  scarcely  made  half  his 
march  when  tidings  of  the  disaster  met  him,  and  he  at  once 
fell  back  with  the  greatest  precipitation. 

At  midnight  on  the  10th  Montcalm  had  landed  his  force 
within  half  a  league  of  the  first  English  fort.  Four  cannon 
were  at  once  landed  and  a  battery  thrown  up,  and  so  care- 
less of  danger  were  the  garrison  that  it  was  not  till  the 
morning  that  the  invaders  were  discovered.  Two  armed 
vessels  at  once  sailed  down  to  cannonade  them;  but  their 
light  guns  were  no  match  for  the  heavy  artillery  of  the 
French,  and  they  were  forced  to  retire.  The  attack  was 
commenced  without  delay.  The  Indians  and  Canadians 
swarming  in  the  forest  round  the  fort  kept  up  a  hot  fire 
upon  it. 

By  nightfall  the  first  parallel  was  marked  out  at  180  yards 
from  the  rampart.  Fort  Ontario,  considered  the  strongest 
of  the  three  forts  at  Oswego,  stood  on  a  high  plateau  on  the 
right  side  of  the  river  where  it  entered  the  lake.  It  was  in 
the  shape  of  a  star,  and  formed  of  a  palisade  of  trunks  of 
trees  set  upright  in  the  ground,  hewn  flat  on  both  sides,  and 
closely  fitted  together — an  excellent  defence  against  mus- 
ketry, but  worthless  against  artillery.  The  garrison  of  the 
fort,  370  in  number,  had  eight  small  cannon  and  a  mortar, 
with  which  all  next  day  they  kept  up   a  brisk  fire  against 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  229 

the  battery  which  the  French  were  throwing  up  and  arm- 
ing with  twenty-six  pieces  of  heavy  artillery.  Colonel  Mer- 
cer, the  commandant  of  Oswego,  saw  at  once  that  the  French 
artillery  would,  as  soon  as  they  opened  fire,  blow  the  stock- 
ade into  pieces,  and  thinking  it  better  to  lose  the  fort  alone 
than  the  fort  and  its  garrison,  he  sent  boats  across  the  river 
after  nightfall,  and  the  garrison  having  spiked  their  guns 
and  thrown  their  ammunition  into  the  well,  crossed  the 
river  unperceived  by  the  French. 

But  Oswego  was  in  no  position  for  defence.  Fort  Pep- 
perell  stood  on  the  mouth  of  the  river  facing  Fort  Ontario. 
Toward  the  west  and  south  the  place  was  protected  by  an 
'juter  line  of  earthworks  mounted  with  cannon,  but  the  side 
facing  the  river  was  wholly  exposed,  in  the  belief  that  Fort 
Ontario  would  prevent  any  attack  in  this  direction* 

Montcalm  lost  no  time.  The  next  evening  his  whole 
*oroe  set  to  work  throwing  up  a  battery  at  the  edge  of  the 
vising  ground  on  which  Fort  Ontario  stood,  and  by  day- 
break twenty  heavy  guns  were  in  position  and  at  once 
opened  fire.  The  grape  and  round  shot  swept  the  English 
position,  smashing  down  the  mud-built  walls,  crashing 
throurh  the  stockades,  and  carrying  destruction  among  the 
troops.  The  latter  made  a  shelter  of  pork-barrels,  three 
high  and  three  deep,  and  planted  cannon  behind  them«,  and 
returned  the  enemy's  fire;  but  the  Canadians  and  Indians 
had  crossed  the  river  by  a  ford  two  miles  up,  and  soon 
opened  fire  from  all  sides. 

Colonel  Mercer,  who  had  bravely  led  his  men  and  in- 
spired them  by  his  example,  was  cut  in  two  by  a  cannon- 
shot,  and  the  garrison  were  seized  with  despair.  A  coun- 
cil of  officers  was  held,  and  the  garrison  surrendered  as 
prisoners  of  war  to  the  number  of  sixteen  hundred,  which 
included  sick,  the  sailors  belonging  to  the  shipping,  labor- 
ers, and  upward  of  a  hundred  women.  Montcalm  had  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  preventing  the  Indians,  by  means,  of 


230  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

threats,  promises,  and  presents,  from  massacreing  the  pris- 
oners. Oswego  was  burned  to  the  ground,  the  forts  and 
vessels  on  the  stocks  destroyed,  and  the  place  having  been 
made  a  desert,  the  army  returned  with  their  prisoners  and 
spoil  to  Montreal. 

The  loss  of  Oswego  had  inflicted  a  very  severe  blow  to 
the  influence  and  prestige  of  England  among  the  Indians 
of  the  lake  districts,  but  this  was  partly  restored  by  the 
failure  of  the  French  expedition  against  William  Henry 
early  in  the  following  spring.  The  expedition  against 
Louisbourg,  to  strengthen  which  the  western  frontier  had 
been  denuded  of  troops,  proved  a  failure.  A  great  delay 
had  taken  place  at  home  in  consequence  of  ministerial 
changes,  and  it  was  not  until  the  5th  of  May  that  fifteen 
ships  of  the  line  and  three  frigates  under  Admiral  Hol- 
bourne  with  5,000  troops  on  board  sailed  from  England  for 
Halifax,  where  Loudon  was  to  meet  him  with  the  forces 
from  the  colony.  But  while  the  English  fleet  had  been  de- 
laying, the  French  government  had  obtained  information 
of  its  destination,  and  had  sent  three  French  squadrons 
across  the  Atlantic  to  Louisbourg.  It  was  the  10th  of  July 
before  the  united  English  force  assembled  at  Halifax,  and 
there  fresh  delays  arose.  The  troops,  nearly  twelve  thou- 
sand in  number,  were  landed,  and  weeks  were  spent  in  idle 
drill. 

At  the  beginning  of  August  the  forces  were  again  em- 
barked, when  a  sloop  came  in  from  Newfoundland  bringing 
letters  which  had  been  captured  on  board  a  French  ship. 
From  these  it  appeared  that  there  were  twenty-two  ships 
of  the  line  besides  several  frigates  in  the  harbor  of  Louis- 
bourg, and  that  7,000  troops  were  in  garrison  in  what  was 
by  far  the  strongest  fortress  on  the  continent. 

Success  was  now  impossible,  and  the  enterprise  was  aban- 
doned. Loudon  with  his  troops  sailed  back  to  New  York, 
and  Admiral  Holbourne,  who  had  been  joined  by  four  ad- 


THE  WINNING   OF  A   CONTINENT.  231 

ditional  ships,  sailed  for  Louisbourg  iu  hopes  that  the 
French  fleet  would  come  out  and  fight  him. 

He  cruised  for  some  time  off  the  port,  but  Lamotte,  the 
French  admiral,  would  not  come  out.  In  September  a  tre- 
mendous gale  burst  upon  the  British  fleet:  one  ship  was 
dashed  on  the  rocks  a  short  distance  from  Louisbourg,  and 
only  a  sudden  shift  of  the  wind  saved  the  rest  from  a  total 
destruction.  Nine  were  dismasted,  and  others  threw  their 
cannon  into  the  sea.  Had  Lamotte  sailed  out  on  the  follow- 
ing day  the  English  fleet  was  at  his  mercy.  Fortunately 
he  did  not  do  so,  and  Holbourne  returned  to  England. 

The  French  in  Canada  were  aware  that  Loudon  had  gath- 
ered all  his  troops  at  New  York,  and  was  preparing  for  an 
expedition  which  was  to  be  aided  by  a  fleet  from  England; 
but  thinking  it  probable  that  it  was  directed  against  Que- 
bec, the  most  vital  point  in  Canada,  since  its  occupation 
by  the  English  would  entirely  cut  the  colony  off  from  France, 
Montcalm  was  obliged  to  keep  his  forces  in  hand  near  that 
town,  and  was  unable  to  take  advantage  of  the  unprotected 
state  in  which  Loudon  had  left  the  frontier  of  the  colonies. 

As  soon,  however,  as,  by  dispatch  received  from  France, 
and  by  the  statements  of  prisoners  captured  by  the  Indians 
on  the  frontier,  Montcalm  learned  that  the  expedition 
which  had  just  left  New  York  was  destined  for  Louisbourg, 
he  was  at  liberty  to  utilize  his  army  for  the  invasion  of  the 
defenceless  colonies,  and  he  determined  to  commence  the 
campaign  by  the  capture  of  Fort  William  Henry. 

James  Walsham,  with  his  company  of  Eoyal  Scouts,  had 
spent  the  spring  at  Fort  William  Henry.  Loudon  had  at 
first  sent  an  order  for  the  corps  to  be  broken  up,  and  the 
men  to  rejoin  their  respective  regiments  and  to  accompany 
them  on  the  expedition;  but  the  earnest  representations 
of  Colonel  Monro,  of  the  35th  Eegiment,  who  was  now  in 
command,  of  the  total  inadequacy  of  the  garrison  to  de- 
fend itself  should  a  serious  attack  be  made  from  Ticonde- 


232  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

roga,  and  of  the  great  value  to  him  of  the  corps  under  Cap- 
tain Walsham,  which  was  now  thoroughly  trained  in  forest- 
fighting,  induced  him  to  countermand  the  order. 

James  was  glad  that  he  was  not  obliged  to  rejoin  his  reg- 
iment. The  independent  command  was  a  pleasant  one, 
and  although  life  at  Fort  William  Henry  had,  since  the 
French  repulse,  been  an  uneventful  one,  there  was  plenty 
©f  fishing  in  the  lake  and  shooting  in  the  woods  to  vary 
the  monotony  of  drill. 

He  and  Edwards  were  now  both  expert  canoemen,  and 
often  ventured  far  down  the  lake,  taking  with  them  one  or 
other  of  the  scouts,  and  keeping  a  sharp  look-out  among 
the  woods  on  either  side  for  signs  of  the  enemy.  Once  or 
twice  they  were  chased  by  Indian  canoes,  but  always  suc- 
ceeded in  distancing  them. 

"  The  news  has  just  come  in  that  the  expedition  has 
sailed,"  James  said  as  he  one  day,  toward  the  end  of  July, 
entered  the  hut  which  he  now  occupied  with  Edwards,  for 
the  corps  had  long  since  been  put  under  huts,  these  being 
better  suited  for  the  hot  season  than  tents. 

"It  is  rather  a  nuisance,"  Edwards  grumbled,  "being 
kept  here  instead  of  going  and  taking  share  in  a  big  siege." 

"  Don't  be  impatient,  Edwards,"  James  replied.  "  If  I 
am  not  greatly  mistaken. you  will  have  quite  as  much  fight- 
ing as  you  want  here  before  long.  Montcalm's  sudden  at- 
tack on  Oswego  last  autumn  showed  that  he  is  an  enterpris- 
ing general,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  as  soon  as  he  learns 
that  Loudon's  expedition  is  not  intended  for  Quebec  he 
will  be  beating  us  up  on  the  frontier  with  a  vengeance." 

Montcalm,  indeed,  had  already  prepared  to  strike  a  blow. 
A  thousand  Indians,  lured  by  the  prospect  of  gifts,  scalps, 
and  plunder,  had  come  in  from  the  west  and  north,  and 
were  encamped  near  Montreal;  and  besides  these  there  were 
the  Mission  Indians,  and  those  of  the  Five  Nations  who 
adhered  to  France.     Early  in  July  the  movement  began. 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  233 

Day  after  day  fleets  of  boats  and  canoes  rowed  up  Lake 
Champlain,  and  toward  the  end  of  the  month  the  whole 
force  was  gathered  at  Ticonderoga.  Here  were  now  col- 
lected eight  thousand  men,  of  whom  two  -thousand  were 
Indians,  representing  forty-one  tribes  and  sub-tribes :  among 
them  were  Iroquois,  Hurons,  Nipissings,  Abenakis,  Algon- 
kins,  Micmacs,  and  Malecites;  these  were  all  nominal  Chris- 
tians, and  counted  eight  hundred  warriors.  With  them 
were  the  Western  Indians:  Ojibwas,  Mississagas,  Pottawat- 
tamies,  Menomonies,  Sacs,  Foxes,  Winnebagoes,  Miamis, 
and  Iowas.     These  were  still  unconverted. 

The  French  held  these  savage  allies  in  abhorrence.  Their 
drunkenness,  their  turbulence,  their  contempt  of  all  or- 
ders, their  cruelty  to  their  captives,  and  their  cannibalism 
disgusted  and  shocked  Montcalm  and  his  officers;  but  they 
were  powerless  to  restrain  them,  for  without  them  as  scouts, 
guides,  and  eyes  in  the  forests,  the  French  could  have  done 
nothing,  and  at  the  slightest  remonstrance  the  Indians  were 
ready  to  take  offence  and  to  march  away  to  their  distant 
homes. 

The  letters  of  Montcalm  and  his  officers  to  their  friends 
were  full  of  disgust  at  the  doings  of  their  savage  allies,  and 
of  regret  that  they  could  not  dispense  with  their  services 
or  restrain  their  ferocity.  Vaudreuil  and  the  Canadians, 
on  the  other  hand,  accustomed  to  the  traditions  of  savage 
warfare,  made  no  attempt  whatever  to  check  the  ferocity  of 
the  Indians,  and  were  indeed  the  instigators  of  the  raids 
which  the  savages  made  upon  the  unprotected  villages  and 
settlements  on  the  frontier,  offered  rewards  for  scalps,  and 
wrote  and  talked  gleefully  of  the  horrible  atrocities  com- 
mitted upon  the  colonists. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


SCOUTING    ON   LAKE    CHAMPLAIN. 


One  morning  Colonel  Monro  sent  for  James.  "  Captain 
Walsham,"  lie  said,  "  there  are  rumors  that  the  French  are 
gathering  at  Crown  Point  in  considerable  force.  Captain 
Rogers  is  still  disabled  by  his  wound,  and  his  band  have 
suffered  so  heavily  in  their  last  affair  with  the  enemy  that 
for  the  time  they  are  out  of  action.  It  is  important  that 
I  should  learn  the  truth  of  these  rumors,  for  if  they  be  true 
I  must  communicate  at  once  to  the  general,  in  order  that 
he  may  get  together  a  sufficient  force  to  relieve  us  if  Mont- 
calm comes  down  and  lays  siege  to  the  fort.  Will  you  un- 
dertake the  business  ?  " 

"  I  will  do  my  best,  sir,"  James  replied.  "  Do  you  propose 
that  I  should  take  all  my  company,  or  only  a  picked  party?" 

"  That  I  will  leave  to  you,  Captain  Walsham.  I  want  trust- 
worthy news,  and  how  you  obtain  it  for  me  matters  little/' 

"  Then  I  will  take  only  a  small  party/'  James  said.  "  Fifty 
men  would  be  useless  for  purposes  of  fighting  if  the  enemy 
are  numerous,  while  with  such  a  number  it  would  be  hope- 
less to  attempt  to  escape  detection  by  the  Indians.  The 
fewer  the  better  for  such  an  enterprise." 

On  leaving  the  commandant  James  at  once  summoned 
the  two  hunters  to  his  hut,  and  told  them  the  mission  he 
had  received. 

"  I  am  ready,  captain,  that  is  if  you  and  I  and  Jonathan 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  235 

makes  up  the  party.  As  to  going  trapezing  about  round 
Crown  Point  with  fifty  soldiers,  the  thing  ain't  to  be 
thought  of.  We  should  be  there  no  more  than  half  an 
hour  before  the  Indians  would  know  of  it,  and  we  should 
have  no  show  either  for  fighting  or  running  away.  No, 
captain,  the  lads  are  good  enough  for  scouting  about  round 
camp  here;  but  as  for  an  expedition  of  that  sort,  we  might 
as  well  start  with  a  drove  of  swine." 

"That  is  just  what  I  thought,  Nat;  one  canoe  may  es- 
cape even  the  eyes  of  the  Indians,  but  a  dozen  would  have 
no  chance  of  doing  so." 

"  We  might  get  up  the  lakes,"  the  scout  said;  "but  the 
mischief  would  be  in  the  woods.  No,  it  never  would  do, 
captain.  If  we  goes  it  must  be  the  three  of  us  and  no 
more.     When  do  you  think  of  starting?" 

"  The  sooner  the  better,  Nat." 

"  Very  well,  captain,  I  will  go  and  get  some  grub  ready, 
and  as  soon  as  it  gets  dusk  we  will  get  the  canoe  into  the 
water." 

"  I  suppose  you  can't  take  me  with  you  ? "  Lieutenant 
Edwards  said  when  James  told  him  of  the  duty  he  had  been 
requested  to  perform.     "  It  is  dismal  here." 

"  Not  exactly,"  James  laughed.  "  What  would  become 
of  the  company  if  it  were  to  lose  its  two  officers  and  its  two 
scouts  at  a  blow!  No, Edwards, you  will  command  during 
my  absence,  and  I  think  you  will  soon  have  more  lively 
limes  here,  for  if  it  be  true  that  Montcalm  will  himself 
command  the  troops  coming  against  us  it  will  be  a  differ- 
ent business  altogether  from  the  last.  And  now  leave  me 
alone  for  an  hour,  I  have  some  letters  to  write  before  I 
start;  they  will  be  for  you  to  send  off  in  case  we  don't  come 
back  again.,  Don't  look  serious,  I  have  no  intention  of 
falling  into  the  hands  of  Montcalm's  savages.  Still  there 
is  no  doubt  the  expedition  is  a  risky  one,  and  it  is  just  as 
well  to  be  prepared." 


236  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OK, 

Just  as  the  sun  was  setting  Nat  came  into  the  officers' 
hut. 

"Everything  is  ready,  captain,"  he  said.  "I  hope  you 
have  made  a  good  dinner,  for  it's  the  last  hot  meal  you 
will  eat  till  you  get  back.  I  have  cooked  enough  meat  for 
the  next  four  days,  and  that's  about  as  long  as  it  will  keep 
good;  after  that  dried  deer's  flesh  will  have  to  do  for  us. 
I  expect,  I  tell  you,  we  shall  have  to  be  pretty  spry  this 
time.  If  they  are  coming  down  in  force  they  are  sure  to 
send  a  lot  of  their  Indians  through  the  woods  on  each  side 
of  the  lake,  and  the  water  will  be  swarming  with  their 
canoes.  Jonathan  and  I  have  been  talking  it  over  and  try- 
ing to  settle  which  would  be  the  safest,  to  foot  it  all  the 
way  or  to  go  by  water.  We  concluded,  as  there  ain't  much 
difference,  and  the  canoe  will  be  the  quickest  and  easiest, 
so  we  had  best  keep  to  that  plan." 

"  I  would  certainly  rather  go  that  way,  Nat,  if  you  think 
that  the  danger  is  no  greater." 

"No,  I  don't  think  there's  much  difference,  captain;  at 
any  rate  we  may  as  well  go  that  way ;  like  enough  we  shall 
have  to  tramp  back  by  the  woods." 

Half  an  hour  later  the  canoe  put  out.  Although  they 
had  little  fear  that  any  of  the  Indian  canoes  would  be  so 
far  up  Lake  George,  there  was  scarce  a  word  spcken  in  the 
boat  for  some  hours  after  starting.  Jonathan  was  always 
silent,  and  Nat,  although  talkative  enough  when  in  camp, 
was  a  man  of  few  words  when  once  embarked  upon  a  seri- 
ous expedition.  As  for  James,  he  had  little  inclination  for 
conversation. 

The  enterprise  was,  he  knew,  one  of  extreme  danger. 
Had  it  been  only  a  French  force  he  was  about  to  recon- 
noitre, or  even  one  composed  of  French  and  Canadians 
together,  he  would  have  thought  little  of  it;  but  he  knew 
that  the  redskins  would  be  roaming  thickly  in  the  forest 
ahead  of  the  army,  and  much  as  he  relied  upon  the  skill 


THE  WINNING   OP  A  CONTINENT.  237 

and  experience  of  the  two  scouts,  he  knew  it  would  be 
difficult  indeed  to  elude  their  watchful  eyes.  He  thought 
of  the  letters  he  had  been  writing,  and  wondered  whether 
he  should  return  to  tear  them  up,  or  whether  they  would 
be  read  at  home. 

All  the  time  he  was  thinking  he  worked  his  paddle  vigor- 
ously and  at  a  high  rate  of  speed.  The  light  canoe 
bounded  noiselessly  over  the  water,  impelled  by  three  vig- 
orous pairs  of  arms.  When  they  approached  the  narrows 
connecting  Lake  George  with  Lake  Champlain  the  boat's 
head  was  directed  toward  the  shore,  for  they  could  not 
get  past  Ticonderoga  before  daylight  broke,  and  it  was 
likely  that  a  good  watch  would  be  kept  in  the  narrows  by 
the  enemy,  and  it  would  be  dangerous  to  try  to  effect  a 
landing  there.  The  canoe  was  carried  ashore  and  hidden 
in  some  bushes,  and  all  lay  down  to  sleep. 

When  day  broke  Nat  rose  and  went  down  to  the  water 
to  see  that  in  landing  they  had  left  no  mark  upon  the 
shore  which  might  betray  them  to  the  eye  of  a  passing  red- 
skin. 

Going  down  on  his  hands  and  knees  he  obliterated  every 
sign  of  their  footprints,  raised  the  herbage  upon  which 
they  had  trodden,  cut  short  to  the  ground  such  stalks  as 
they  had  bruised  or  broken  in  their  passage,  and  then, 
when  confident  that  all  was  safe,  he  returned  to  his  camp. 
When  it  again  became  dark  the  canoe  was  carried  down 
and  replaced  in  the  water,  and  they  continued  their  pas- 
sage.    James  had,  at  Nat's  request,  laid  by  his  paddle. 

"  You  paddle  wonderfully  well,  captain.  I  don't  say  you 
don't;  but  for  a  delicate  piece  of  work  like  this  one  can't 
be  too  careful.  It  ain't  often  I  can  hear  your  paddle  dip 
in  the  water,  not  once  in  a  hundred  times,  but  then  you 
see  that  once  might  cost  us  our  scalps.  We  have  got  to 
go  along  as  silent  as  a  duck  swimming;  speed  ain't  no 
object,  for  we  shall  be  miles  down  Lake  Champlain  before 


238  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

daylight;  but  if  the  French  know  their  business  they  will 
have  half  a  dozen  canoes  in  these  narrows  to  prevent  us 
scouting  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  you  see  they  have  got  all 
the  advantage  of  us,  'cause  they've  got  just  to  lie  quiet  and 
listen  and  we  have  got  to  row  on.  As  far  as  seeing  goes  I 
can  make  them  out  as  soon  as  they  can  make  us  out;  but 
they  can  hear  us  while  they  won't  give  our  ears  a  chance.  I 
tell  you,  captain,  I  don't  expect  to  get  through  this  narrows 
without  a  chase  for  it;  if  it  comes  to  running,  of  course 
you  will  take  your  paddle  again  and  we  three  can  show  our 
heels  to  any  canoe  on  the  lakes,  perviding  of  course  as  it's 
only  a  starn  chase;  if  there  are  three  or  four  of  them,  then 
I  don't  say  as  it  won't  be  a  close  thing." 

James  accordingly  lay  quietly  back  in  the  boat  while  his 
companions  took  the  paddles.  It  was  not  necessary  for  him 
either  to  look  out  or  to  listen,  for  he  knew  that  his  com- 
panions' eyes  and  ears  were  quicker  than  his  own.  It  had 
been  agreed  before  starting  that  they  should  go  along  close 
to  the  trees  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  passage,  because 
the  keenest  look-out  would  be  kept  on  the  right-hand  side, 
as  that  would  naturally  be  chosen  bv  any  boat  going  up  as 
being  farthest  from  the  French  fort 

"  There  is  no  fear  whatever  of  our  being  seen  from  the 
land,"  Nat  had  said;  "the  redskins  would  know  that  so 
well  that  they  wouldn't  trouble  to  look  out.  It's  only 
canoes  we  have  got  to  be  afraid  of,  and  as  to  them  it's  just 
a  chance;  they  might  see  us  out  in  the  light  waters  in  the 
middle,  but  under  the  trees  they  can't  make  us  out  thirty 
}^ards  off.  They  will  be  lying  there  quiet  if  they  are  there 
at  all,  and  we  shall  either  get  past  them  safe  or  we  shall 
pretty  nigh  run  into  them.  It's  just  chance,  and  there's 
nothing  to  do  for  it  but  to  paddle  as  noiselessly  as  fish  and 
trust  to  our  luck." 

Having  crossed  the  lake  to  the  left  shore  they  entered 
the  narrows;    the  paddles  were  dipped  so  quietly  into  the 


THE  WINNING  OF   A  CONTINENT.  239 

water  that  even  James  could  scarcely  hear  their  sound. 
Every  few  strokes  the  scouts  stopped  paddling  altogether 
and  sat  listening  intently.  They  were  keeping  close  to  the 
trees,  so  close  that  at  times  it  seemed  to  James  that  by 
stretching  out  his  hands  he  could  touch  the  bushes. 

After  an  hour's  paddling  they  stopped  longer  than  usual. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  James  whispered  in  Jonathan's  ear,  for 
Nat  had  taken  the  bow  paddle. 

"  There  are  men  ahead/'  the  scout  whispered  back.  "  We 
heard  them  speak  just  now." 

Presently  the  boat  began  to  move  again,  but  so  quietly 
that  it  was  only  by  looking  at  the  dark  masses  of  the  boughs 
that  stretched  out  overhead  that  James  knew  the  boat  was 
in  motion.  Jonathan  now  crouched  in  the  bottom  of  the 
boat  and  placed  his  hand  on  Nat's  shoulder  as  a  sign  for 
him  to  do  the  same.  The  time  seemed  endless  to  James  as 
he  lay  there;  it  was  too  dark  under  the  trees  for  him  even 
to  see  the  outline  of  Nat's  figure.  The  boat  was,  he  was 
sure,  moving,  for  occasionally  as  he  lay  on  his  back  it  grew 
lighter  overhead  as  they  passed  under  openings  in  the  trees. 

Suddenly  his  heart  gave  a  bound  and  he  nearly  started, 
for  a  guttural  voice  spoke  seemingly  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  canoe.  He  placed  his  hand  on  his  rifle  in  readiness  to 
sit  up  and  fire,  bat  all  was  still  again.  It  was  a  passing 
remark  made  by  one  redskin  to  another  in  a  canoe,  for  the 
sound  was  to  his  right.  Another  long  period  passed  and 
then  Jonathan  sat  up  and  took  to  his  paddle  again,  and 
James  judged  that  the  danger  was  over.  Eaising  his  head 
he  could  see  nothing  except  the  vague  light  of  the  sheet 
of  water  on  his  right;  the  boat  was  still  keeping  close  under 
the  trees  on  the  left  shore  of  the  lake,  and  he  lay  back  again 
and  dozed  off  to  sleep.  He  was  awoke  by  Jonathan  touch- 
ing his  foot. 

"  You  can  take  your  paddle  now,  captain."  He  sat  up  at 
once  and  looked  round.    They  were  far  out  now  on  a  broad 


240  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

sheet  of  water ;  there  were  some  faint  lights  as  of  fires  burn- 
ing low  high  up  to  the  left  behind  them,  and  he  knew  that 
they  had  already  passed  Ticonderoga  and  were  making  their 
way  along  Lake  Champlain.  They  paddled  for  some  hours 
and  then  landed  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  lake. 

"  We  are  not  likely  to  be  disturbed  here,"  Nat  said  as 
they  lifted  the  canoe  from  the  water.  "  The  Indians  coming 
Mown  from  Crown  Point  would  keep  on  the  other  side  of 
the  lake;  they  will  all  make  for  Ticonderoga  and  will  not 
think  of  keeping  a  look-out  for  any  one  as  far  down  the 
lake  as  this." 

"  That  was  a  close  shave  with  that  canoe,  Nat;  it  startled 
me  when  I  heard  the  voice  close  to  us.  They  must  have 
been  within  ten  yards  of  us." 

"About  that,"  Nat  said ;  "  it  was  lucky  they  spoke  when 
we  were  coming  along.  I  expect  they  had  been  watching 
for  some  nights  and  hadn't  much  idea  any  one  would  come, 
or  else  they  wouldn't  have  spoken.  As  it  was  it  was  easy 
enough  to  pass  them  on  such  a  dark  night.  Of  course  they 
were  looking  outside  and  I  just  kept  along  as  close  as  I  could 
to  the  bushes,  only  just  giving  a  light  stroke  now  and  then 
to  take  her  along.  Being  inside  them  I  got  a  sight  of  'em 
some  distance  away,  but  I  knew  they  couldn't  see  us,  sharp 
as  their  eyes  are;  the  only  chance  was  their  hearing,  and  as 
there  was  no  noise  for  them  to  hear  I  felt  safe  enough 
after  I  had  once  caught  sight  of  'em  and  saw  they  were  ly- 
ing out  at  the  edge  of  the  shadow.  If  they  had  been  close 
under  the  bushes,  as  they  ought  to  have  been,  we  should 
have  been  in  for  a  fight,  for  we  mightn't  have  seen  each 
other  till  the  boats  touched.  Let  that  be  a  lesson  to  yon, 
captain;  when  you  are  on  the  look-out  for  a  canoe  at  night 
lie  in  among  the  bushes;  it  must  pass  betwreen  you  and  the 
light  then,  and  as  they  can't  see  you,  you  can  either  grapple 
or  shoot,  just  as  you  like.  If  they  had  a  seen  us  we  should 
have  had  a  hot  time,  for  I  could  hear  by  their  calls  right 


THE   WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  241 

along  the  other  side  that  they  were  looking  out  for  us  in 
earnest,  and  if  a  rifle  had  been  fired  we  should  have  had  half 
a  dozen  canoes  down  upon  us  in  no  time,  and  like  enough 
should  have  had  to  leave  the  boat  and  take  to  the  woods." 

"  How  far  is  Crown  Point  away  ?  " 

"  Not  more  than  ten  miles,"  Nat  said ;  "  it  is  thirty  miles 
from  Ticonderoga.  It  lies  out  on  a  point  just  where  Cham- 
plain  widens  out.  I  reckon  our  safest  way  to-night  will  be 
to  scout  along  this  side  till  we  are  well  past  the  point,  then 
to  paddle  out  well  across  the  lake  and  come  up  again  and 
land  to  the  left  of  Crown  Point.  We  shall  then  be  in  the 
track  of  boats  coming  up  from  the  lower  end  of  the  lake, 
and  can  paddle  boldly  on.  No  one  would  be  keeping  any 
look-out  that  way.  Our  danger  won't  begin  until  we  get 
ashore;  in  course  then  we  must  act  according  to  sarcum- 
stances." 

This  manoeuvre  was  carried  out.  They  started  as  soon  as 
it  became  dark,  and  after  paddling  along  the  eastern  shore 
for  nearly  three  hours  struck  out  into  the  wide  lake  till  they 
approached  the  opposite  shore,  and  then  heading  south 
again  paddled  boldly  down  toward  the  spot  where,  at  the 
end  of  a  sweep  of  land  which  seemed  to  close  in  the  lake, 
stood  the  French  fort  of  Crown  Point. 

Before  starting  the  two  scouts  had  stripped  to  the  waist, 
had  laid  aside  their  caps,  and  fastening  a  strip  of  leather 
round  their  heads  had  stuck  some  feathers  into  it.  The}' 
then  painted  their  faces  and  bodies. 

"  You  needn't  be  particular  about  the  flourishes,  Jona- 
than; it's  only  the  redskin  outline  as  one  wants  to  get;  if 
we  run  against  any  other  canoes  coming  up  the  lake,  or  they 
get  sight  of  us  as  we  near  the  shore,  so  as  we  look  something 
like  redskins  that's  near  enough.  Of  course  we  can  both 
speak  Mohawk  well  enough  to  pass  muster,  and  the  captain 
will  lay  himself  down  in  the  bottom.  Captain,  you  will  do 
well  enough  for  a  Canadian  when  we  have  once  landed. 
"16 


242  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

There  ain't  much  difference  between  a  hunter  one  side  of 
the  frontier  and  the  other,  but  it's  as  well  that  you  shouldn't 
be  seen  till  we  land.  The  less  questions  asked  the  better. 
Our  Mohawk's  good  enough  with  any  of  the  other  tribes, 
but  it  wouldn't  pass  with  a  Mohawk  if  we  got  into  a  long 
talk  with  him." 

Fortunately,  however,  these  precautions  proved  unneces- 
sary ;  no  other  canoes  were  seen  on  the  lake,  and  the}7  landed 
unnoticed  at  a  spot  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  west  of  Crown 
Point.  Before  starting  from  Fort  AYilliam  Henry  James 
had  laid  aside  his  uniform  and  had  dressed  himself  in  hunt- 
ing-shirt and  leggings  similar  to  those  worn  by  the  scouts. 
He  had  adopted  various  little  details  in  which  the  Canadian 
hunters  differed  from  those  on  the  English  side  of  the  fron- 
tier. The  latter  wore  their  hunting-shirts  loose  in  Indian 
fashion,  while  the  Canadians  generally  wore  a  leathern  belt 
outside  theirs  at  the  waist. 

His  cap  was  made  of  squirrels'  skins,  which  would  pass 
equally  well  on  both  sides  of  the  frontier.  The  fire-bag,  in 
which  tobacco,  tinder  and  other  small  matters  were  carried, 
was  of  Indian  workmanship,  as  was  the  cord  of  his  powder- 
horn  and  bullet-pouch.  Altogether  his  get-up  was  some- 
what brighter  and  more  picturesque  than  that  of  English 
scouts,  who,  as  a  rule,  despised  anything  approaching  to 
ornament.  He  knew  that  by  disguising  himself  he  would 
be  liable,  if  captured,  to  be  shot  at  once  as  a  spy;  but  this 
could  not  be  considered,  under  the  circumstances,  to  add  to 
the  risk  he  ran,  for  in  any  case  he  wsa  certain  to  be  killed 
if  detected,  and  it  would  have  been  out  of  the  question  to 
attempt  to  approach  the  French  camp  in  the  uniform  of  a 
British  officer.  Could  he  have  spoken  Canadian  French 
the  mission  would  have  been  comparatively  easy,  but  he 
knew  only  a  few  words  of  the  language,  and  would  be  de- 
tected the  instant  he  opened  his  lips. 

The  canoe  was  hauled  up  and  carefully  concealed  on  land, 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  243 

and  then  they  lay  down  until  daylight,  for  no  information 
as  to  the  strength  of  the  enemy  could  be  gained  in  the  dark. 
In  the  morning  the  two  scouts  very  carefully  made  their 
toilet.  They  had  brought  all  necessaries  with  them ;  and 
soon,  in  their  Indian  hunting-shirts  and  fringed  leggings, 
and  with  carefull}r-painted  faces,  they  were  in  a  position 
to  defy  the  keenest  scrutiny. 

When,  after  a  careful  survey  of  each  other,  they  felt  that 
their  disguise  was  complete,  they  moved  boldly  forward, 
accompanied  by  James.  After  half  an  hour's  walking  they 
emerged  from  the  forest,  and  the  strong  fort  of  Crown 
Point  lay  before'  them.  It  was  constructed  of  stone,  and 
was  capable  of  withstanding  a  long  siege  by  any  force  which 
could  be  brought  against  it.  Round  it  was  the  camp  of  the 
French  troops,  and  James  judged  from  the  number  of  tents 
that  there  must  be  some  1,500  French  soldiers  there.  A 
short  distance  away  were  a  large  number  of  roughly-con- 
structed huts  roofed  with  boughs  of  trees. 

"  Them's  the  Canadians,"  Jonathan  said.  "  The  redskins 
never  build  shelters  while  on  the  war-path.  There  are  a 
heap  of  redskins  about." 

These,  indeed,  even  at  the  distance  of  several  hundred 
yards,  could  be  easily  distinguished  from  their  white  allies 
by  their  plumed  head-dresses  and  by  the  blankets  or  long 
robes  of  skins  which  hung  from  their  shoulders. 

"I  should  put  them  down  at  three  thousand." 

"  It  is  a  big  army,"  Nat  said.  "  I  should  think  there  must 
be  quite  as  many  Canadians  as  French.  How  many  red- 
skins there  are  there  ain't  no  knowing,  but  we  may  be  sure 
that  they  will  have  got  together  as  many  as  they  could.  Put 
'em  down  at  4,000,  and  that  makes  7,000  altogether,  enough 
to  eat  up  Fort  William  Henry  and  to  march  to  Albany." 

"Ay,  or  to  New  York  if  they  are  well  led  and  take  fancy 
to  it — that  is,  if  the  colonists  don't  bestir  themselves  smartly. 
Well,  so  far  you  have  found  out  what  you  came  to  seek,  cap- 
tain.    What's  the  next  thing  ?  " 


244  WITH  WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

"  "We  must  discover,  if  we  can,  whether  they  mean  to  go 
up  the  lakes  in  boats  or  to  march  through  the  woods," 
James  replied.  "  They  will  have  a  tremendous  job  getting 
any  guns  through  the  woods,  but  if  they  are  going  by  water 
of  course  they  can  bring  them/' 

''Very  well/'  Nat  replied.  "In  that  case,  captain,  my 
advice  is,  you  stop  in  the  woods,  and  Jonathan  and  I  will 
go  down  past  the  fort  to  the  shore  and  see  what  provision 
they  are  making  in  that  way.  You  see,  the  place  swarms 
with  Canadians,  and  you  would  be  sure  to  be  spoken  to. 
Redskins  don't  talk  much  to  each  other  unless  there  is 
some  need  for  words,  and  we  can  go  right  through  the 
French  camp  without  fear.  The  only  danger  is  of  some 
loping  Mohawk  coming  up  to  us,  and  I  don't  reckon  there 
are  many  of  'em  in  the  camp,  perhaps  nary  a  one." 

Although  James  did  not  like  his  followers  to  go  into  dan- 
ger without  his  sharing  it,  he  saw  that  his  presence  would 
enormously  add  to  their  risks,  and  therefore  agreed  to  their 
plan.  Withdrawing  some  distance  into  the  wood,  and  choos- 
ing a  thick  growth  of  underwood,  he  entered,  and  lay  down 
in  the  bushes,  while  the  two  scouts  walked  quietly  away 
toward  the  camp. 

Two  hours  passed.  Several  times  he  heard  footsteps  in 
the  wood  near  him,  and,  peering  through  the  leaves,  caught 
sight  of  parties  of  Indians  going  toward  the  camp,  either 
late  arrivals  from  Montreal  or  bands  that  had  been  out 
scouting  or  hunting.  At  the  end  of  the  two  hours,  to  his 
great  relief  he  saw  two  figures  coming  from  the  other  way 
through  the  woods,  and  at  once  recognized  the  scouts.  He 
crawled  out  and  joined  them  as  they  came  up. 

"  Thank  God  you  are  back  again !  I  have  been  in  a  fever 
all  the  time  you  have  been  away." 

"  I  wish  I  had  known  the  precise  place  where  you  were 
hiding,  I  should  have  made  a  sign  to  you  to  keep  quiet; 
but  it  ain't  of  no  use  now." 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  245 

"  What's  the  matter  then,  Nat  ?  " 

"  I  ain't  quite  sure  as  anything  is  the  matter,"  the  scout 
replied;  "but  I  am  feared  of  it.  As  bad  luck  would  have 
it,  just  as  we  were  coming  back  through  the  camp  we  came 
upon  a  Mohawk  chief.  He  looked  hard  at  us,  and  then 
came  up  and  said :  '  The  Owl  thought  that  he  knew  all  his 
brothers;  but  here  are  two  whose  faces  are  strange  to  him/ 
Of  course  I  told  him  that  we  had  been  living  and  hunting 
for  years  in  the  English  colony,  but  that  hearing  that  the 
Mohawks  had  joined  the  French  we  had  come  to  fight  beside 
our  brothers.  He  asked  a  few  questions,  and  then  passed 
on.  But  I  could  see  the  varmin  was  not  satisfied,  though, 
in  course,  he  pretended  to  be  glad  to  welcome  us  back  to 
the  tribe.  So  we  hung  about  the  camp  for  another  half 
hour,  and  then  made  a  sweep  before  we  came  out  here.  I 
didn't  look  round,  but  Jonathan  stooped  as  if  the  lace  of 
his  moccasin  had  come  undone,  and  managed  to  look  back, 
but  in  course  he  didn't  see  anything." 

"  Then  you  have  no  reason  to  believe  you  are  followed, 
Nat?" 

"  Don't  I  tell  you  I  have  every  reason  ?  "  Nat  said.  "  If 
that  redskin,  the  Owl,  has  got  any  suspicion — and  suspicion 
you  may  be  sure  he's  got — he  won't  rest  till  he's  cleared 
the  matter  up.     He  is  after  us,  sure  enough." 

"Then  had  we  not  better  make  for  the  canoe  at  full 
speed  ?  " 

"No,"  Nat  said.  "If  they  are  behind  us  they  will  be 
watching  our  trail,  and  if  they  see  we  change  our  pace  they 
will  be  after  us  like  a  pack  of  wolves,  while  as  long  as  we 
walk  slowly  and  carelessly  they  will  let  us  go.  If  it  were 
dark  we  might  make  a  run  for  it,  but  there  ain't  no  chance 
at  present.  If  we  took  to  the  lake  we  should  have  a  hun- 
dred canoes  after  us,  while  the  woods  are  full  of  Indians, 
and  a  whoop  of  the  Owl  would  bring  a  hundred  of  them 
down  onto  our  track." 


246  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"  Why  shouldn't  the  Owl  have  denounced  you  at  once  if 
he  suspected  you  ?  "  James  asked. 

"  Because  it  ain't  redskin  nature  to  do  anything  till  you 
are  sure,"  the  scout  replied.  "  There  is  nothing  a  redskin 
hates  so  much  as  to  be  wrong,  and  he  would  rather  wait 
for  weeks  to  make  sure  of  a  thing  than  run  the  risk  of 
making  a  mistake.  I  don't  suppose  he  takes  us  for  whites. 
He  expects  we  belong  to  some  other  tribe  come  in  as 
spies." 

"  Then  what  are  you  thinking  of  doing  ? "  James 
asked. 

"  We  will  go  on  a  bit  further,"  Nat  said,  "  in  hopes  of 
coming  across  some  stream  where  we  may  hide  our  trail. 
If  we  can't  find  that  we  will  sit  down  before  long  and  eat 
as  if  we  was  careless  and  in  no  hurry." 

For  a  time  they  walked  on  in  silence. 

"  Do  you  think  they  are  close  to  us  ?  "  James  asked  pres- 
ently. 

"  Not  far  away,"  the  scout  said  carelessly.  "  So  long  as 
they  see  we  ain't  hurrying  they  will  go  easy.  They  will 
know  by  this  time  that  we  have  a  white  man  with  us,  and, 
like  enough  the  Owl  will  have  sent  back  for  one  or  two 
more  of  his  warriors.  Likely  enough  he  only  took  one  with 
him  at  first  seeing'  we  were  but  two,  and  that  he  reckoned 
on  taking  us  by  surprise;  but  when  he  saw  you  joined  us 
he  would  send  back  for  perhaps  a  couple  more." 

"  Then  what  1  would  suggest,"  James  said,  "  is,  that  we 
should  at  once  stroll  down  to  our  canoe,  put  it  in  the  water, 
and  paddle  out  a  few  hundred  yards,  and  there  let  down 
the  lines  we  have  got  on  board  and  begin  to  fish.  As  long 
as  we  are  quiet  there  the  redskins  may  not  interfere  with 
us,  and  when  it  gets  dark  we  can  make  off.  At  the  worst 
we  have  a  chance  for  it,  and  it  seems  to  me  anything  would 
be  better  than  this  sort  of  wandering  about  when  we  know 
that  at  any  time  we  may  have  them  down  upon  us." 


THE   WINNING   OF   A   CONTINENT.  247 

"  Perhaps  that  is  the  best  plan/'  Nat  said.  "  What  do 
you  think,  Jonathan  ?  " 

Jonathan  gave  an  assenting  grunt,  and  they  turned  their 
faces  toward  the  lake,  still  walking  at  the  same  leisurely 
pace.  Not  once  did  any  of  the  three  look  back.  As  they 
neared  the  water  James  found  the  temptation  very  strong 
to  do  so,  but  he  restrained  it,  and  sauntered  along  as  care- 
lessly as  ever.  The  canoe  was  lifted  from  its  hiding-place 
and  put  in  the  water.  As  they  were  about  to  step  in  the 
bushes  parted,  and  the  Owl  stood  beside  them. 

"Where  are  my  brothers  going?"  he  asked  quietly. 

"  We  are  going  fishing,"  Nat  answered.  "  The  noise  in 
the  woods  will  have  frightened  game  away." 

"  There  is  food  in  the  camp,"  the  Owl  said.  "  The  French 
give  food  to  their  brothers  the  redskins." 

"My  white  brother  wants  fish,"  Nat  said  quietly,  "and 
we  have  told  him  we  will  catch  him  some.  Will  the  Owl 
go  with  us  ?  " 

The  Indian  shook  his  head,  and  in  a  moment  the  canoe 
put  off  from  the  shore,  the  Indian  standing  watching  them 
at  the  edge  of  the  water. 

"  That's  a  badly-puzzled  redskin,"  Nat  said  with  a  low 
laugh.  "  His  braves  have  not  come  up  yet  or  he  would  not 
have  let  us  start.  There,  that  is  far  enough;  we  are  out  of 
the  range  of  Indian  guns.  Now  lay  in  your  paddles  and 
begin  to  fish.  There  are  several  canoes  fishing  further  out, 
and  the  redskin  will  feel  safe.  He  can  cut  us  off  provid- 
ing we  don't  go  beyond  them." 

The  Indian  was,  as  Nat  had  said,  puzzled.  That  some- 
thing was  wrong  he  was  sure;  but  as  he  was  alone  he  was 
unable  to  oppose  their  departure.  He  watched  them  closely 
as  they  paddled  out,  in  readiness  to  give  a  war-whoop  which 
would  have  brought  down  the  fishing  canoes  outside,  and 
given  warning  to  every  Indian  within  sound  of  his  voice; 
but  when  he  saw  them  stop  and  begin  to  fish  he  hesitated. 


24:8  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

If  he  gave  the  alarm  he  might  prove  to  be  mistaken,  and 
he  shrank  from  facing  the  ridicule  which  a  false  alarm 
would  bring  upon  him.  Should  they  really  prove,  as  he 
believed,  to  be  spies,  he  would,  if  he  gave  the  alarm,  lose  the 
honor  and  glory  of  their  capture,  and  their  scalps  would 
fall  to  other  hands — a  risk  not  to  be  thought  of.  He  there- 
fore waited  until  six  of  his  braves  came  up.  He  had  already 
retired  among  the  trees  before  he  joined  them;  but  the 
canoe  was  still  visible  through  the  branches. 

"The  men  we  tracked  have  taken  to  the  water;  they  are 
fishing.  The  Owl  is  sure  that  they  are  not  of  our  tribe; 
but  he  must  wait  till  he  sees  what  they  will  do.  Let  three 
of  my  brothers  go  and  get  a  canoe,  and  paddle  out  be}rond 
them,  and  there  fish.  I  will  remain  with  the  others  here. 
If  they  come  back  again  we  will  seize  them.  If  they  go  out 
further  my  brothers  will  call  to  the  redskins  in  the  other 
canoes,  and  will  cut  them  off.  The  Owl  and  his  friends 
will  soon  be  with  them." 

"  There  is  another  canoe  coming  out,  Nat/'  James  said. 
"  Hadn't  we  better  make  a  run  for  it  at  once  ?  " 

"Not  a  bit  of  it,  captain.  Dear  me,  how  difficult  it  is  to 
teach  men  to  have  patience !  I  have  looked  upon  you  as  a 
promising  pupil;  but  there  you  are,  just  as  hasty  and  im- 
patient as  if  you  had  never  spent  a  day  in  the  woods.  Where 
should  we  run  to  ?  We  must  go  up  the  lake,  for  we  could 
not  pass  the  point,  for  fifty  canoes  would  be  put  out  before 
we  got  there.  We  couldn't  land  this  side,  because  the  woods 
are  full  of  redskins;  and  if  we  led  them  for  ten  miles  down 
the  lake  and  landed  t'other  side  scores  of  them  would  land 
between  here  and  there,  and  would  cut  us  off.  No,  lad ;  we 
have  got  to  wait  here  till  it's  getting  late.  I  don't  say  till 
it's  dark,  but  till  within  an  hour  or  so  of  nightfall.  As  long 
as  we  show  no  signs  of  going,  the  chances  is  as  they  won't 
interfere  with  us.  It's  a  part  of  redskin  natur  to  be  pa- 
tient, and  as  long  as  they  see  as  we  don't  try  to  make  off 


THE   WINNING    OF   A   CONTINENT.  249 

they  will  leave  us  alone.  That's  how  I  reads  it.  You  agrees 
with  me,  Jonathan  ?  In  course  you  do/'  he  went  on  as  his 
companion  grunted  an  assent.  "  I  don't  say  as  they  mayn't 
ask  a  question  or  so;  but  I  don't  believe  as  they  will  inter- 
fere with  us." 

"  There  is  a  fish  on  your  line,  captain.  You  don't  seem 
to  me  to  be  attending  to  your  business." 

James  indeed  found  it  difficult  to  fix  his  attention  on  his 
line  when  he  knew  that  they  were  watched  by  hostile  eyes, 
and  that  at  any  moment  a  conflict  might  begin, 

The  canoe  that  had  come  out  last  had  shaped  its  coarse 
so  as  to  pass  close  to  those  fishing  outside  them,  and  a  few 
words  had  been  exchanged  with  the  occupants  of  each — a 
warning,  no  doubt,  as  to  the  suspicious  character  of  the 
fishing  party  near  them.  Beyond  this  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. The  Indians  in  the  canoe  had  let  down  their  lines, 
and  seemed  as  intent  as  the  others  upon  their  fishing.  The 
hours  passed  slowly.  Under  other  circumstances  James 
would  have  enjoyed  the  sport,  for  the  fish  bit  freely  and  a 
considerable  number  were  soon  lying  in  the1  canoe.  Nat  and 
Jonathan  appeared  as  interested  in  their  work  as  if  no  other 
boat  but  their  own  were  afloat  on  the  lake.  Never  once 
did  James  see  them  glance  toward  the  canoes.  They  did 
not  talk  much,  but  when  they  spoke  it  was  always  in  the 
Indian  tongue. 

The  time  seemed  endless  before  the  sun  began  to  sink 
beyond  the  low  hills  on  their  left.  It  was  an  intense  relief 
to  James  when  Nat  said  at  last : 

"  The  time  is  just  at  hand  now,  cap.  The  redskins  are 
tired  of  waiting.  At  least  they  think  that  they  had  better 
not  put  it  off  any  longer.  They  know  as  well  as  we  do  that 
it  won't  do  to  wait  till  it  gets  dark.  Do  you  see  that  canoe 
that  came  out  last  is  paddling  down  toward  us  ?  It  looks 
as  if  it  were  drifting,  but  I  have  seen  them  dip  a  paddle  in 
several  times.     The  others  are  pulling  up  their  lines  so  as 


250  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA. 

to  be  in  readiness  to  join  in.  Get  your  piece  ready  to  pick 
up  and  aim  the  moment  I  give  the  word.  They  think  they 
are  going  to  surprise  us,  but  we  must  be  first  with  them. 
Go  on  with  your  fishing,  and  just  drop  your  line  overboard 
when  you  pick  up  your  gun." 

The  canoe  approached  slowly  until  it  was  within  thirty 
yards.  James  and  his  companions  went  on  with  their  fish- 
ing as  if  they  did  not  notice  the  approach  of  the  other 
canoe,  until  one  of  the  Indians  spoke. 

"Have  my  Indian  brothers  caught  many  fish  ?" 

"A  goodish  few,"  Nat  replied.  "  One  or  two  of  them  are 
large  ones.  See  here,"  and  he  stooped  as  if  to  select  a  large 
fish. 

"  Now,"  he  said  suddenly. 

In  an  instant  the  three  rifles  were  levelled  to  the  shoulder 
and  pointed  at  the  Indians.  The  latter,  taken  completely 
by  surprise,  and  finding  themselves  with  three  barrels  lev- 
elled at  them,  as  by  one  accord  dived  overboard. 

"  Now  your  paddles,"  Nat  exclaimed. 

Three  strokes  sent  the  canoe  dancing  up  to  that  which 
the  Indians  had  just  left.  It  struck  it  on  the  broad  side 
and  rolled  it  instantly  over. 

"  Those  redskin  guns  are  out  of  the  way,  anyhow,"  Nat 
said.     "  Now  we  have  got  to  row  for  it." 

He  gave  a  sharp  turn  to  the  canoe  as  he  spoke,  and  it 
bounded  away  toward  the  right,  thereby  throwing  those 
outside  it  on  their  quarter.  Simultaneously  with  the  upset 
of  the  canoe  half  a  dozen  rifles  rang  out  from  the  shore,  an 
Indian  war-whoop  rose  at  the  edge  of  the  woods,  and  a 
minute  later  half  a  dozen  canoes  shot  out  from  shore. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

THROUGH   MANY   PEEILS. 

The  course  Hat  was  taking  was  not  parallel  to  that  of 
the  boats  outside  him.  He  was  sheering  gradually  out  into 
the  lake,  and  although  the  boat  was  travelling  somewhat 
faster  than  its  pursuers,  James  saw  that  its  course  would 
carry  it  across  their  bows  at  a  dangerously  close  distance. 
The  Indians  were  not  long  in  seeing  that  the  canoe  was 
outstripping  them,  and  iu  each  of  the  boats  one  of  the  red- 
skins laid  aside  his  paddle  and  began  to  fire.  The  balls 
struck  the  water  near  the  canoe,  bat  no  one  was  hit.  "  Let 
them  fire,"  Jonathan  said ;  "  it  ain't  every  man  as  can  shoot 
straight  from  a  canoe  going  at  racing  pace.  The  more  they 
fires  the  better;  they  will  only  fall  further  behind." 

After  firing  two  or  three  shots  each  the  Indians  appeared 
to  be  of  the  same  opinion,  and  resumed  their  paddles;  but 
they  had  lost  so  much  ground  that  the  canoe  they  were  in 
chase  of  shot  out  into  the  lake  fifty  yards  ahead  of  the 
nearest.  Some  more  shots  were  fired,  and  then  the  Indians 
began  hastily  to  throw  the  fish  with  which  their  canoes 
were  laden  into  the  water.  After  paddling  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  farther  Nat  laid  in  his  paddle. 

"  Out  with  them  fish,"  he  said.  "  You  can  leave  one  or  two 
for  supper,  but  the  rest  must  go  overboard.  Be  quick  about 
it,  for  those  canoes  from  the  shore  are  coming  up  fast." 

The  work  was  concluded  just  as  the  canoes  with  the  Owl 


252  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

and  his  warriors  came  up  with  the  others,  which,  having 
now  got  rid  of  their  fish,  again  set  out,  and  in  a  close  body 
the  ten  canoes  started  in  pursuit. 

"  Paddle  steady,"  Nat  said ;  "  and  whatever  you  do,  be 
keerful  of  your  blades.  If  one  was  to  break  now  it  would 
mean  the  loss  of  our  scalps.  Don't  gain  on  'em;  as  long  as 
the  redskins  on  shore  think  as  their  friends  are  going  to 
catch  us,  they  won't  care  to  put  out  and  join  in  the  chase; 
but  if  they  thought  we  was  getting  away  they  might  launch 
canoes  ahead  of  us  and  cut  us  on'.  The  nearer  we  are  to 
them  the  better  as  long  as  we  are  keeping  ahead." 

For  an  hour  the  chase  continued.  The  Indians,  although 
straining  every  nerve,  did  not  gain  a  foot  upon  the  fugitives, 
who,  although  paddling  hard,  had  still  some  reserve  of 
strength.  The  sun  by  this  time  was  touching  the  tops  of 
the  hills. 

"  Now,  cap,"  Nat  said,  "  it's  time  to  teach  'em  as  we  can 
bite  a  bit.  They  won't  be  quite  so  hot  over  it  if  we  give 
them  a  lesson  now.  Do  you  turn  round  and  pepper  them 
a  bit.  Now,  old  hoss !  you  and  I  must  row  all  we  know  for 
a  bit." 

Turning  himself  in  the  canoe,  resting  his  elbow  on  his 
knee  to  steady  his  rifle,  James  took  as  careful  an  aim  as  the 
dancing  motion  of  the  boat  permitted,  and  fired.  A  dull 
sound  came  back  like  an  echo  to  the  crack  of  the  piece, 
and  a  paddle  in  the  leading  boat  fell  into  the  water;  a  yell 
arose  from  the  Indians,  but  no  answering  shout  came  back. 
The  Indians  were  now  paddling  even  harder  than  before, 
in  hope  of  overtaking  the  canoe,  now  that  it  was  impelled 
by  but  two  rowers.  But  the  scouts  were  rowing  their  hard- 
est, and  proved  the  justice  of  their  fame  as  the  best  pad- 
dlers  on  the  lakes,  by  maintaining  their  distance  from  their 
pursuers. 

Again  and  again  James  fired,  several  of  his  bullets  taking 
effect.     It  was  now  rapidly  becoming  dusk. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  253 

"  That  will  do,  captain ;  we  had  best  be  showing  them 
our  heels  now,  and  get  as  far  ahead  as  we  can  by  the  time 
it  is  quite  dark." 

James  laid  by  his  rifle  and  again  took  his  paddle,  and  as 
all  were  rowing  at  the  top  of  their  speed  they  gradually 
increased  the  distance  between  themselves  and  their  pur- 
suers. Eapidly  the  gap  of  water  widened,  and  when  dark- 
ness fell  on  the  lake  the  fugitives  were  more  than  half  a 
mile  ahead  of  their  pursuers.  The  night  was  dark,  and  a 
light  mist  rising  from  the  water  further  aided  them.  When 
night  had  set  in  the  pursuing  canoes  could  no  longer  be  seen. 

For  another  half  hour  they  paddled  on  without  intermit- 
ting their  efforts;  then  to  James's  surprise  Nat  turned  the 
head  of  the  canoe  to  the  western  shore.  He  asked  no  ques- 
tion, however,  having  perfect  faith  in  Nat's  sagacity.  They 
were  nearly  in  the  middle  of  the  lake  when  they  altered 
their  course,  and  it  took  them  half  an  hour's  hard  paddling 
before  the  dark  mass  of  trees  loomed  up  in  the  darkness 
ahead  of  him.  Ten  minutes  before  Nat  had  passed  the 
word  that  they  should  paddle  quietly  and  noiselessly.  It 
was  certain  that  the  chase  would  be  eagerly  watched  from 
the  shore,  and  that  any  Indians  there  might  be  in  the  wood 
would  be  closely  watching  near  the  water's  edge. 

Accordingly,  as  noiselessly  as  possible,  they  approached 
the  shore,  and  gliding  in  between  the  overhanging  trees, 
laid  the  canoe  alongside  a  clump  of  bushes,  then  without  a 
word  being  spoken  they  laid  in  their  paddles  and  stretched 
themselves  full  length  in  the  canoe.  James  was  glad  of  the 
rest,  for,  trained  and  hard  as  were  his  muscles,  he  was  ex- 
hausted by  the  long  strain  of  the  row  for  life. 

He  guessed  that  Nat  would  calculate  that  the  Indian 
canoes  would  scatter  when  they  lost  sight  of  them,  and  that 
they  would  seek  for  them  more  closely  on  the  eastern  shore. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  surprised  that  after  once  getting 
out  of  sight  of  their  pursuers  Nat  had  not  immediately 


254  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

landed  on  the  opposite  shore  and  started  on  foot  through 
the  woods. 

After  recovering  his  breath  James  sat  up  and  listened 
attentively.  Once  or  twice  he  thought  he  heard  the  sound 
of  a  dip  of  a  paddle  out  on  the  lake,  but  he  could  not  be 
sure  of  it,  while  from  time  to  time  he  heard  the  croak  of  a 
-frog,  sometimes  near,  sometimes  at  a  distance  along  the 
shore.  He  would  have  thought  little  of  this  had  not  a 
slight  pressure  of  Jonathan's  hand  against  his  foot  told 
him  that  these  were  Indian  signals. 

Some  hours  passed  before  Nat  made  a  move,  then  he 
touched  Jonathan  and  sat  up  in  the  canoe;  the  signal  was 
passed  on  to  James,  the  paddles  were  noiselessly  taken  up, 
and  without  a  sound  that  could  be  detected  by  the  most 
closely-listening  ear,  the  canoe  stole  out  again  on  to  the 
lake.  Until  some  distance  from  shore  they  paddled  very 
quietly,  then  gradually  the  strokes  grew  more  vigorous 
until  the  canoe  was  flying  along  at  full  speed  up  the  lake, 
her  course  being  laid  so  as  to  cross  very  gradually  toward 
the  eastern  side. 

It  was  not  until,  as  James  judged,  they  must  have  been 
several  miles  from  the  point  at  which  they  had  started  that 
they  approached  the  eastern  shore.  Tbey  did  so  with  the 
same  precautions  which  had  been  adopted  on  the  other  side, 
and  sat  listening  intently  before  they  gave  the  last  few 
strokes  which  took  them  to  the  shore.  Quietly  they  stepped 
out,  and  the  two  scouts,  lifting  the  canoe  on  their  shoulders, 
carried  it  some  fifty  yards  into  the  forest  and  laid  it  clown 
among  some  bushes.  Then  they  proceeded  on  their  way, 
Nat  walking  first,  James  following  him  so  close  that  he  was 
able  to  touch  him,  for  in  the  thick  darkness  under  the  trees 
he  could  not  perceive  even  the  outlines  of  his  figure.  Jona- 
than followed  close  behind.  Their  progress  was  slow,  for 
even  the  trained  woodsmen  could  with  difficulty  make  their 
way  through  the  trees,  and  Nat's  only  index  as  to  the  di- 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  255 

rection  to  be  taken  lay  in  the  feel  of  the  bark  of  the  trunks. 
After  an  hour's  progress  he  whispered : 

"  We  will  stop  here  till  daylight ;  we  can't  do  any  good  at 
the  work.    We  haven't  made  half  a  mile  since  we  started." 

It  was  a  positive  relief  to  James  to  hear  the  scout's  voice, 
for  not  a  single  word  had  been  spoken  since  they  lost  sight 
of  their  pursuers  in  the  darkness.  The  fact  that  he  had 
ventured  now  to  speak  showed  that  he  believed  that  they 
were  comparatively  safe. 

"  May  I  speak,  Nat  ?  "  he  asked  after  they  had  seated 
themselves  on  the  ground. 

"Ay,  you  may  speak,  captain,  but  don't  you  raise  your 
voice  above  a  whisper;  there  is  no  saying  what  redskin  ears 
may  be  near  us.  I  guess  these  forests  are  pretty  well  alive 
with  them.  You  may  bet  there  isn't  a  redskin  or  one  of 
the  irregular  Canadian  bands  but  is  out  arter  us  to-night. 
The  war-whoop  and  the  rifles  will  have  put  them  all  on  the 
look-out.  They  will  have  seen  that  we  were  pretty  well 
holding  our  own,  and  will  guess  that  when  night  came  on 
we  should  give  the  canoes  the  slip.  I  guess  they  will  have 
placed  a  lot  of  canoes  and  flat-boats  across  the  lake  opposite 
Crown  Point,  for  they  will  know  that  we  should  either  head 
back  or  take  to  the  woods.  I  guess  most  of  the  redskins 
near  Crown  Point  will  have  crossed  over  at  this  point,  as 
in  course  we  were  more  likely  to  land  on  this  side.  I  had 
a  mighty  good  mind  to  land  whar  we  was  over  there,  but 
there  are  sure  to  be  such  a  heap  of  Indians  making  their  way 
up  that  side  from  Montreal  that  I  judge  this  will  be  the 
best;  but  we  shall  have  all  we  can  do  to  get  free  of  them/' 

"  Why  didn't  you  land  at  once,  Nat,  after  we  lost  sight 
of  them  instead  of  crossing  over  ?  " 

"  Because  that's  where  they  will  reckon  we  shall  land, 
captain,  that's  where  they  will  look  for  our  tracks  the  first 
thing  in  the  morning,  and  they  will  know  that  we  can't 
travel  far  such  a  dark  night  as  this,  and  they  will  search  every 


256  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA: -OR, 

inch  of  the  shore  for  three  or  four  miles  below  where  they 
lost  sight  of  us,  to  find  where  we  landed.  They  would  know 
well  enough  we  couldn't  get  ashore  without  leaving  tracks 
as  they  would  make  out,  and  they  would  reckon  to  pick  up 
our  trail  fast  enough  in  the  wood  and  to  overtake  us  before 
we  had  gone  many  miles.  Now  you  see  we  have  doubled  on 
them.  The  varmint  in  the  woods  will  search  the  edge  of 
the  lake  in  the  morning,  but  it's  a  good  long  stretch  to  go 
ever,  and  if  we  have  luck  they  mayn't  strike  on  our  landing- 
place  for  some  hours  after  daylight.  In  course  they  may  hit 
on  it  earlier;  still  it  gives  us  a  chance  anyhow.  Another 
thing  is,  we  have  twenty  miles  less  to  travel  through  the 
woods  than  if  we  had  to  start  up  there,  and  that  makes  all 
the  dilf erence  when  you've  got  redskins  at  your  heels.  If 
we  don't  have  the  bad  luck  to  come  across  some  of  the  var- 
mint in  the  woods  I  expect  we  shall  carry  our  scalps  back 
to  Fort  William  Henry.  Now  you  had  best  sleep  till  day- 
break; we  shan't  get  another  chance  till  we  get  into  the 
fort  again." 

With  the  first  dawn  of  morning  they  were  on  their  way. 
Striking  straight  back  into  the  woods  they  walked  fast,  but 
with  the  greatest  care  and  caution,  occasionally  making 
bends  and  detours  to  prevent  the  redskins  following  their 
traces  at  a  run,  which  they  would  have  been  able  to  do  had 
they  walked  in  a  straight  line.  Whenever  the  ground  was 
soft  they  walked  without  trying  to  conceal  their  tracks,  for 
Nat  knew  that  however  carefully  they  progressed  the  In- 
dians would  be  able  to  make  out  their  trail  here.  When, 
however,  they  came  to  rocky  and  broken  ground  they 
walked  with  the  greatest  caution,  avoiding  bruising  any  of 
the  plants  growing  between  the  rocks.  After  walking  ten 
miles  in  this  direction  they  turned  to  the  south. 

"  We  ought  to  be  pretty  safe  now,"  Nat  said ;  "  they  may 
be  three  or  four  hours  before  they  hit  on  our  landing-place 
and  find  the  canoe.     I  don't  say  as  they  won't  be  able  to 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  257 

follow  our  trail — there  ain't  no  saying  what  redskin  eyes 
can  do — but  it'll  take  them  a  long  time  anyway.  There 
ain't  much  risk  of  running  against  any  of  them  in  the  forest 
now.  I  guess  that  most  of  them  followed  the  canoe  down 
the  lake  last  night.  Anyway  we  are  well  out  from  Lake 
Cham  plain  now.  When  we  have  gone  another  fifteen  mile 
we  shan't  be  far  from  the  upper  arm.  There's  a  canoe 
been  lying  hidden  there  for  the  last  two  years  unless  some 
tramping  redskin  has  found  it,  which  ain't  likely." 

Twenty  miles  further  walking  brought  them  to  the  shore 
of  the  lake.  Following  this  for  another  hour  they  came 
upon  the  spot  where  a  little  stream  ran  into  the  lake. 

"  Here  we  are/'  Nat  said.  "  Fifty  yards  up  here  we  shall 
find  the  canoe." 

They  followed  the  stream  up  for  a  little  distance,  and 
then  Nat,  leaving  its  edge,  made  for  a  clump  of  bushes  a 
few  yards  away.  Pushing  the  thick  foliage  aside  he  made 
his  way  into  the  centre  of  the  clump. 

"  Here  it  is/'  he  said,  "  just  as  I  left  it." 

The  canoe  was  lifted  out  and  carried  down  to  the  lake, 
and  taking  their  seats  they  paddled  up  Lake  Champlain, 
keeping  close  under  the  shore. 

"  We  have  had  good  luck,  captain,"  Nat  said.  "  I  hardly 
thought  we  should  har  got  out  without  a  scrimmage.  I  ex- 
pect as  the  best  part  of  the  redskins  didn't  trouble  them- 
selves very  much  about  it.  They  expect  to  get  such  a  lot  of 
scalps  and  plunder  when  they  take  the  fort  that  the  chance 
of  three  extra  wasn't  enough  inducement  for  'cm  to  take 
much  trouble  over  it.  The  redskins  in  the  canoes  who 
chased  us  would  be  hot  enough  over  it,  for  you  picked  out 
two  if  not  more  of  them;  but  those  who  started  from  the 
fort  wouldn't  have  any  particular  reason  to  trouble  much, 
especially  as  they  think  it  likely  that  those  who  were  chas- 
ing us  would  get  the  scalps.  When  a  redskin's  blood's  up 
there  ain't  no  trouble  too  great  for  him,  and  he  will  follcrmf 
*7 


258  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OK, 

for  weeks  to  get  his  revenge;  but  take  'em  all  in  all  they  are 
lazy  varmint,  and  as  long  as  there  is  plenty  of  deer's  meat 
on  hand  they  will  eat  and  sleep  away  their  time  for 
weeks." 

By  night  they  reached  the  upper  end  of  Lake  Champlain, 
the  canoe  was  carefully  hidden  away  again,  and  they  struck 
through  the  woods  in  the  direction  of  Fort  William  Henry. 
'They  were  now  safe  from  pursuit,  and  after  walking  two  or 
three  miles  halted  for  the  night,  made  a  fire,  and  cooked 
some  of  the  dried  meat.  When  they  had  finished  their 
meal  Nat  said : 

"  Now  we  will  move  away  a  bit  and  then  stretch  our- 
selves out." 

"  Why  shouldn't  we  lie  down  here,  Nat  ?  " 

"  Because  it  would  be  a  foolish  thing  to  do,  captain.  There 
ain't  no  saying  what  redskins  may  be  wandering  in  the 
woods  in  time  of  war.  A  thousand  nights  might  pass  with- 
out one  of  'em  happening  to  come  upon  that  fire,  but  if 
they  did  and  we  were  lying  beside  it,  all  the  trouble  we 
have  taken  to  slip  through  their  hands  would  be  chucked 
clean  away.     No,  you  cannot  be  too  careful  in  the  wood3." 

They  started  early  the  next  morning,  and  before  noon 
arrived  at  Fort  William  Henry,  where  James  at  once  re- 
ported to  Colonel  Monro  what  he  had  learned  of  the 
strength  of  the  French  force  gathering  at  Crown  Point. 

"Thank  you,  Captain  Walsham,"  the  commandant  said. 
"I  am  greatly  indebted  to  you  for  having  brought  us  cer- 
tain news  of  what  is  coming.  1  will  write  off  at  once  and 
ask  for  reinforcements.  This  is  a  serious  expedition,  and 
the  colonies  will  have  to  make  a  great  effort  and  a  speedy 
one  if  they  are  going  to  save  the  fort,  for  from  what  we  hear 
of  Montcalm  he  is  not  likely  to  let  the  grass  grow  under 
his  feet.     I  shall  report  the  services  you  have  rendered." 

As  soon  as  Colonel  Monro  received  the  report  James 
had  brought  him  he  sent  to  General  Webb,  who  with  two 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  259 

thousand  six  hundred  men,  chiefly  provincials,  was  at  Fort 
Edward,  fourteen  miles  away. 

On  the  25th  of  July  that  general  visited  Fort  William 
Henry,  and  after  remaining  there  four  days  returned  to 
Fort  Edward,  whence  he  wrote  to  the  governor  of  New 
York,  telling  him  the  French  were  coming,  and  urging  him 
to  send  forward  the  militia  at  once,  saying  that  he  was  de- 
termined to  march  himself  w7ith  all  his  troops  to  the  fort. 
Instead  of  doing  so,  three  days  later  he  sent  up  a  detachment 
of  two  hundred  regulars  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Young, 
and  eight  hundred  Massachusetts  men  under  Colonel  Frye. 

This  raised  the  force  at  Fort  William  Henry  to  two 
thousand  two  hundred  men,  and  reduced  that  of  Webb  to 
sixteen  hundred.  Had  Webb  been  a  brave  and  determined 
man  he  would  have  left  a  few  hundred  men  only  to  hold 
Fort  Edward,  and  marched  with  the  rest  to  assist  Monro, 
when  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  August  he  received  a 
letter  from  him,  saying  that  the  French  were  in  sight  on 
the  lake,  but  as  he  was  neither  brave  nor  determined,  he 
remained  at  Fort  Edward  sending  off  message  after  mes- 
sage to  New  York  for  help  which  could  not  possibly  arrive 
in  time. 

Already  the  garrison  of  Fort  William  Henry  had  suffered 
one  reverse.  Three  hundred  provincials,  chiefly  New  Jersey 
men,  under  Colonel  Parker,  had  been  sent  out  to  reconnoi- 
tre the  French  outposts.  The  scouts  under  James  Walsham 
were  of  the  party.  They  were  to  proceed  in  boats  down 
the  lake. 

"  I  don't  like  this  business  no  way,  captain/'  Nat  said  as 
the  company  took  their  place  in  the  boats.  "  This  ain't 
neither  one  thing  or  the  other.  If  Monro  wants  to  find  out 
about  the  enemy  Jonathan  and  I  kin  do  it.  If  he  wants  to 
fight  the  enemy,  this  lot  ain't  enough;  besides,  these  New 
Jersey  men  know  no  more  about  the  forest  than  so  many 
children.     You  mark  my  words,  this  is  going  to  be  a  bad 


260  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

business.  Why,  they  can  see  all  these  boats  half-way  down 
the  lake,  and  with  all  these  redskins  about  they  will  am- 
bush us  as  soon  as  we  try  to  land.  Look  here,  captain;  you 
know  that  I  ain't  no  coward.  I  don't  think  no  one  can  say 
that  of  me.  I  am  ready  to  fight  when  there  is  a  chance  of 
fighting,  but  I  don't  see  no  good  in  getting  myself  killed 
off  when  there  ain't  no  good  in  it.  So  what  I  says  is  this, 
don't  you  be  in  a  hurry,  captain,  with  these  boats  of  ours." 

"  But  I  must  obey  orders,  Nat,"  James  said,  smiling. 

"Yes,  you  must  obey  orders,  captain,  no  doubt;  but 
there's  two  ways  of  obeying  orders,  the  one  is  to  rush  in 
front  and  to  do  a  little  more  than  you  are  told,  the  other  is 
to  take  things  quiet,  and  just  do  what  you  are  told  and  no 
more.  Now,  my  advice  is,  on  this  here  expedition  you  go 
on  the  last  plan;  if  you  are  ordered  to  land  first,  why  land 
first  it  must  be.  If  you  don't  get  orders  to  land  first,  just 
let  them  as  is  in  a  hurry  land  afore  you.  I  ain't  been  teach- 
ing all  these  lads  to  know  something  about  the  woods  for 
the  last  six  months  jest  to  see  them  killed  off  like  flies,  be- 
cause a  blundering  wrong-headed  colonel  sends  them  out 
with  two  hundred  and  fifty  ploughmen,  for  the  redskins  to 
see  and  attack  jest  when  they  fancies." 

"  Very  well,  Nat,  I  will  take  your  advice,  and  for  once 
we  won't  put  ourselves  in  the  front  unless  we  are  ordered." 

Satisfied  with  this  Nat  passed  quietly  round  among  the 
men  as  they  were  taking  their  places  in  the  boats,  and  told 
them  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  them  to  row  as  if  they 
were  racing.  "I  shall  be  in  the  captain's  boat,"  he  said; 
"you  keep  close  to  us,  and  don't  you  try  to  push  on  ahead. 
When  we  are  once  fairly  in  the  woods,  then  we  will  do  the 
scouting  for  the  rest,  but  there  ain't  no  hurry  for  us  to 
begin  that  till  we  are  on  shore. 

"  Look  at  us,"  Nat  grumbled  in  James's  ear  as  the  boats 
started  down  the  lake;  "there  we  are  rowing  along  the 
middle  instead  of  sneaking  along  close  to  the  shore.     Does 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  261 

Parker  think  that  the  redskins  are  as  blind  as  he  is,  and 
that  'cause  it's  night  a  lot  of  big  boats  like  these  can't  be 
seen  out  in  the  middle  of  the  lake  ?  I  tell  you,  captain,  if 
we  ain't  ambushed  as  soon  as  we  land  I  will  grant  I  know 
nothing  of  redskin  ways." 

James  had,  in  fact,  before  starting,  suggested  to  Colonel 
Parker  that  it  would  be  well  to  keep  under  the  shelter  of 
the  bushes;  but  the  officer  had  replied  stiffly:  "When  I 
want  your  advice,  Captain  Walsham,  I  will  ask  for  it." 
After  which  rebuff  James  was  more  willing  than  he  had 
hitherto  been  to  act  in  accordance  with  the  advice  of  the 
scout.  Accordingly  as  they  rowed  down  the  lake  the  boats 
with  the  Koyal  Scouts,  although  keeping  up  with  the  others, 
maintained  their  position  in  the  rear  of  the  column. 

Toward  daybreak  the  boats'  heads  were  turned  to  shore, 
and  when  they  neared  it  Colonel  Parker  gave  the  order  for 
the  men  to  lay  in  their  oars,  while  the  three  boats  which 
happened  to  be  in  advance  were  told  to  advance  at  once 
and  land.  The  boats  passed  through  the  thick  curtain  of 
trees  which  hung  down  over  the  water's  edge.  A  minute 
passed,  and  then  three  others  were  ordered  to  follow  them. 

"  Did  you  hear  nothing  ?  "  Nat  whispered  to  James. 

"  No,  I  didn't  hear  anything,  Nat.     Did  you  ?  " 

"Well,  I  think  I  did  hear  something,  captain.  It  seems 
to  me  as  I  heard  a  sort  of  scuffle." 

"  But  they  never  could  surprise  some  thirty  or  forty  men 
without  the  alarm  being  given  ?  " 

"  It  depended  what  sort  of  men  they  were,"  Nat  said 
scornfully;  "  they  wouldn't  surprise  men  that  knew  their 
business;  but  those  chaps  would  just  jump  out  of  their 
boats  as  if  they  was  landed  on  a  quay  at  New  York,  and 
would  scatter  about  among  the  bushes.  Why,  Lord  bless 
you,  the  Indians  might  ambush  and  tomahawk  the  lot  before 
they  had  time  to  think  of  opening  their  lips  to  give  a  shout." 

The  second  three  boats  had  now  disappeared  among  the 


262  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:    OR, 

trees,  and  Colonel  Parker  gave  the  word  for  the  rest  to  ad- 
vance in  a  body. 

"Look  to  your  firelocks,  lads,"  James  said;  "whatever 
happens  keep  perfectly  cool.  You  at  the  oars  especially 
sit  still  and  be  ready  to  obey  orders." 

The  boats  were  within  fifty  yards  of  the  trees  when,  from 
beneath  the  drooping  boughs,  a  volley  of  musketry  was 
poured  out,  and  a  moment  later  a  swarm  of  canoes  darted 
Out  from  beneath  the  branches,  and  the  terrible  Indian  war- 
whoop  rang  in  the  air.  Appalled  by  the  suddenness  of  the 
attack,  by  the  deadly  fire,  and  the  terrible  yells,  the  greater 
portion  of  the  men  in  the  boats  were  seized  with  the  wildest 
panic.  Many  of  them  jumped  into  the  water,  others  threw 
themselves  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  boats,  some  tried  to 
row,  but  were  impeded  by  their  comrades. 

"  Steady,  men,  steady !  "  James  shouted  at  the  top  of  his 
voice ;  "  get  the  boats'  heads  round  and  keep  together.  "We 
can  beat  off  these  canoes  easy  enough  if  you  do  but  keep 
your  heads." 

His  orders  were  obeyed  promptly  and  coolly  by  the  men 
of  his  company.  The  boats  were  turned  with  their  heads 
to  the  lake  as  the  canoes  cams  dashing  up,  and  the  men 
who  were  not  employed  in  rowing  fired  so  steadily  and  truly 
that  the  redskins  in  several  of  the  leading  canoes  fell,  up- 
setting their  boats. 

"  Don't  hurry,"  James  shouted;  "  there  is  no  occasion  for 
haste,  they  can  go  faster  than  we  can;  all  we  have  got  to 
do  is  to  beat  them  off,  lay  in  all  the  oars  except  the  two  bow 
oars  in  each  boat,  all  the  rest  of  the  men  stand  to  their 
arms,  and  let  the  boats  follow  each  other  in  file,  the  bow 
of  one  close  to  the  stern  of  that  ahead." 

The  check  which  the  volley  had  given  to  the  canoes  gave 
time  to  the  men  in  several  of  the  boats  close  to  those  of 
the  scouts,  to  turn.  They  were  rowing  past  James's  slowly 
moving  boats  when  he  shouted  to  them : 


THE   WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  263 

"  Steady,  men,  your  only  chance  of  escape  is  to  show  a 
front  to  them  as  we  are  doing.  They  can  overtake  you 
easily,  and  will  row  you  down  one  after  the  other.  Fall  in 
ahead  of  our  line,  and  do  as  we  are  doing.  You  need  not 
be  afraid;  we  could  beat  them  off  if  they  were  ten  times  as 
many." 

Keassured  by  the  calmness  with  which  James  issued  his 
orders,  the  boats  took  up  the  positions  assigned  to  them. 
James,  who  was  in  the  last  boat  in  the  line,  shuddered  at 
the  din  going  on  behind  him.  The  yells  of  the  Indians,  the 
screams  and  cries  of  the  provincials,  mingled  with  the  sharp 
crack  of  rifles  or  the  duller  sound  of  the  musket.  The 
work  of  destruction  was  soon  over.  Save  his  own  company 
and  some  fifty  of  the  provincials  in  the  boats  ahead,  the 
whole  of  Colonel  Parker's  force  had  been  killed  or  were 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  who,  having  finished 
their  work,  set  off  in  pursuit  of  the  boats  which  had  es- 
caped them. 

James  at  once  changed  the  order,  the  front  boat  was 
halted,  and  the  others  formed  in  a  line  beside  it,  presenting 
the  broad  side  to  the  approaching  fleet  of  canoes.  When 
the  latter  came  within  a  hundred  yards  a  stream  of  fire 
opened  from  the  boats,  the  men  aiming  with  the  greatest 
coolness.  The  canoes  were  checked  at  once,  a  score  of  the 
paddlers  had  sunk,  killed,  or  wounded  into  the  bottom,  and 
several  of  the  frail  barks  were  upset.  As  fast  as  the  men 
could  load  they  continued  their  fire,  and  in  two  minutes 
from  the  first  shot  the  canoes  were  turned  and  paddled  at 
full  speed  toward  the  shore,  pursued  by  a  hearty  cheer  from 
the  English.  The  oars  were  then  manned  again,  and  the 
remains  of  Parker's  flotilla  rowed  up  the  lake  to  Fort  Wil- 
liam Henry. 

Several  of  the  prisoners  taken  by  the  Indians  were  cooked 
and  eaten  by  them.  A  few  days  afterward  a  party  of  In- 
dians, following  the  route  from  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain, 


264  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

made  a  sudden  attack  on  the  houses  round  Fort  Edward, 
and  killed  thirty-two  men. 

It  was  an  imposing  spectacle  as  the  French  exj^edition 
made  its  way  down  Lake  George.  General  Levis  had 
marched  by  the  side  of  the  lake  with  twenty-five  hundred 
men,  Canadians,  regulars,  and  redskins,  while  the  main 
body  proceeded,  the  troops  in  two  hundred  and  fifty  large 
'boats,  the  redskins  in  many  hundreds  of  their  canoes. 

The  boats  moved  in  military  order;  there  were  six  regi- 
ments of  French  line:  La  Reine  and  Languedoc,  La  Sarre 
and  Guienne,  Beam  and  Roussillon;  the  cannons  were  car- 
ried on  platforms  formed  across  two  boats.  Slowly  and 
regularly  the  procession  of  boats  made  its  way  down  the 
lake  till  they  saw  the  signal  fires  of  Levis,  who  with  his 
command  was  encamped  near  the  water  at  a  distance  of 
two  miles  from  the  fort.  Even  then  the  English  were  not 
aware  that  near  eight  thousand  enemies  were  gathered  close 
to  them.  Monro  was  a  brave  soldier,  but  wholly  unfitted 
for  the  position  he  held,  knowing  nothing  of  irregular 
warfare,  and  despising  all  but  trained  soldiers. 

At  daybreak  all  was  bustle  at  Fort  Henry.  Parties  of 
men  went  out  to  drive  in  the  cattle,  others  to  destroy  build- 
ings which  would  interfere  with  the  fire  from  the  fort.  The 
English  position  was  now  more  defensible  than  it  had  been 
when  it  was  attacked  in  the  spring.  The  forest  had  been 
cleared  for  a  considerable  distance  round,  and  the  buildings 
which  had  served  as  a  screen  to  the  enemy  had  for  the  most 
part  been  removed. 

The  fort  itself  lay  close  down  by  the  edge  of  the  water, 
one  side  and  the  rear  were  protected  by  the  marsh,  so  that 
it  could  only  be  attacked  from  one  side ;  beyond  the  marsh 
lay  the  rough  ground  where  Johnson  had  encamped  two 
years  before;  Avhile  en  a  flat  hill  behind  this  was  an  in- 
trenched camp,  beyond  which  again  was  another  marsh. 

As  soon  as  the  sun  rose  the  column  of  Levis  moved  through 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  265 

the  forest  toward  the  fort,  followed  by  Montcalm  with  the 
main  body,  while  the  artillery  boats  put  out  from  behind 
the  point  which  had  hid  them  from  the  sight  of  the  Eng- 
lish, and  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  Indian  canoes  moved 
slowly  forward,  opening  fire  as  they  went.  Soon  the  sound 
of  firing  broke  out  near  the  edge  of  the  forest  all  round  the 
fort,  as  the  Indians  with  Levis  opened  fire  upon  the  sol- 
diers who  were  endeavoring  to  drive  in  the  cattle. 

Hitherto  James  Walsham,  with  Edwards  and  his  two 
scouts,  was  standing  quietly  watching  the  approaching  fleet 
of  boats  and  canoes,  Nat  expressing,  in  no  measured  terms, 
his  utter  disgust  at  the  confusion  which  reigned  in  and 
around  the  fort. 

"  It  looks  more  like  a  frontier  settlement  suddenly  sur- 
prised," he  said,  "  than  a  place  filled  with  soldiers  who  have 
been  for  weeks  expecting  an  attack.  Nothing  done,  nothing 
ready;  the  cattle  all  over  the  place;  the  tents  on  that  open 
ground  there  still  standing;  stores  all  about  in  the  open. 
Of  all  the  pig-headed,  obstinate,  ignorant  old  gentlemen  I 
ever  see,  the  colonel  beats  them  all.  One  might  as  well  have 
an  old  woman  in  command.  Indeed,  I  know  scores  of  old 
women  on  the  frontier  who  would  have  been  a  deal  better 
here  than  him." 

But  if  Monro  was  obstinate  and  prejudiced,  he  was  brave, 
cool,  and  determined,  and  now  that  the  danger  had  come 
he  felt  secure  of  his  ground,  and  took  the  proper  measures 
for  defence,  moving  calmly  about  and  abating  the  disposi- 
tion to  panic  by  the  calm  manner  in  which  he  gave  his 
orders.  Nat  had  scarcely  finished  his  grumbling  when  the 
colonel  approached. 

"  Cuptain  Walsham,"  he  said,  "  you  will  take  your  com- 
pany at  once  and  cover  the  parties  driving  in  the  cattle. 
You  will  fall  back  with  them,  and  when  you  see  all  in 
safety  retire  into  the  intrenched  camp." 

The  company  were  already  under  arms  waiting  for  orders, 


266  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA. 

and  at  the  double  James  led  them  up  the  sloping  ground 
toward  the  forest,  whence  the  war-whoops  of  the  Indians 
and  the  sharp  cracks  of  the  rifles  were  now  ringing  out  on 
all  sides.  James  made  for  the  spot  where  a  score  of  sol- 
diers were  driving  a  number  of  cattle  before  them,  some 
hurrying  the  beasts  on  across  the  rough  ground,  others  fir- 
ing at  the  Indians,  who,  as  their  numbers  increased,  were 
boldly  showing  themselves  behind  the  trees  and  advancing 
in  pursuit. 

As  soon  as  they  neared  the  spot  James  scattered  his  men 
in  skirmishing  order.  Each  placed  himself  behind  one  of 
the  blackened  stumps  of  the  roughly-cleared  forest  and 
opened  fire  upon  the  Indians.  Several  of  these  fell,  and 
the  rest  bounded  back  to  the  forest,  whence  they  opened  a 
heavy  fire.  Now  the  company  showed  the  advantage  of  the 
training  they  had  gone  through,  fighting  with  the  greatest 
steadiness  and  coolness,  and  keeping  well  in  shelter,  until, 
when  the  soldiers  and  cattle  had  got  well  on  their  way 
toward  the  fort,  James  gave  the  order  to  fall  back,  and  the 
band,  crawling  among  the  stumps,  and  pausing  to  fire  at 
every  opportunity,  made  their  way  back  without  having 
lost  a  man,  although  several  had  received  slight  wounds. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


THE   MASSACRE   AT   FORT   WILLIAM    HENRY. 


When  the  skirmishing  round  Fort  Henry  was  over,  La 
Corne,  with  a  body  of  Indians,  occupied  the  road  that  led 
to  Fort  Edward,  and  Levis  encamped  close  by  to  support 
him  and  check  any  sortie  the  English  might  make  from 
their  intrenched  camp.  Montcalm  reconnoitred  the  posi- 
tion. He  had  at  first  intended  to  attack  and  carry  the  in- 
trenched camp,  but  he  found  that  it  was  too  strong  to  be 
taken  by  a  rush.  He  therefore  determined  to  attack  the 
fort  itself  by  regular  approaches  from  the  western  side, 
while  the  force  of  Levis  would  intercept  any  succor  which 
might  come  from  Fort  Edward  and  cut  off  the  retreat  of 
the  garrison  in  that  direction.  He  gave  orders  that  the 
cannon  were  to  be  disembarked  at  a  small  cove  about  half 
a  mile  from  the  fort,  and  near  this  he  placed  his  main 
camp.  He  now  sent  one  of  his  aides-de-camp  with  a  letter 
to  Monro. 

"  I  owe  it  to  humanity,"  he  said, "  to  summon  you  to  sur= 
render.  At  present  I  can  restrain  the  savages  and  make 
them  observe  the  terms  of  a  capitulation,  but  I  might  not 
have  the  power  to  do  so  under  other  circumstances,  and  an 
obstinate  defence  on  your  part  could  only  retard  the  cap- 
ture of  the  place  a  few  days  and  endanger  the  unfortunate 
.garrison,  which  cannot  be  relieved  in  consequence  of  the 


268  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

dispositions  I  have  made.  I  demand  a  decisive  answer 
within  an  hour." 

Monro  replied  simply  that  he  and  his  soldiers  would  de- 
fend themselves  till  the  last. 

The  trenches  were  opened  on  the  night  of  the  4th.  The 
work  was  extremely  difficult,  the  ground  being  covered 
with  hard  stumps  of  trees  and  fallen  trunks.  All  night 
long  S00  men  toiled  at  the  work,  while  the  guns  of  the  fort 
kept  up  a  constant  fire  of  round  shot  and  grape;  but  by 
daybreak  the  first  parallel  was  made.  The  battery  on  the 
left  was  nearly  finished,  and  one  on  the  right  begun.  The 
men  were  now  working  under  shelter,  and  the  guns  of  the 
fort  could  do  them  little  harm. 

While  the  French  soldiers  worked  the  Indians  crept  up 
through  the  fallen  trees  close  to  the  fort  and  fired  at  any 
of  the  garrison  who  might  for  a  moment  expose  themselves. 
Sharpshooters  in  the  fort  replied  to  their  fire,  and  all  day 
the  fort  was  fringed  with  light  puffs  of  smoke,  while  the 
cannon  thundered  unceasingly.  The  next  morning  the 
French  battery  on  the  left  opened  with  eight  heavy  cannon 
and  a  mortar,  and  on  the  following  morning  the  battery  on 
the  right  joined  in  with  eleven  other  pieces. 

The  fort  only  mounted  in  all  -seventeen  cannon,  for  the 
most  part  small,  and  as  some  of  them  were  upon  the  other 
faces,  the  English  fire,  although  kept  up  with  spirit,  could 
reply  but  weakly  to  that  of  the  French.  The  fort  was 
composed  of  embankments  of  gravel,  surmounted  by  a  ram- 
part of  heavy  logs  laid  in  tiers  crossing  each  other,  the  in- 
terstices filled  with  earth;  and  this  could  ill  support  the 
heavy  cannonade  to  which  it  was  exposed.  The  roar  of 
the  distant  artillery  continuing  day  after  day  was  plainly 
audible  at  Fort  Edward ;  but  although  Monro  had  at  the 
commencement  of  the  attack  sent  off  several  messengers 
asking  for  reinforcements  Webb  did  not  move. 

On  the  third  day  of  the  siege  he  had  received  2,000  men 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  269 

from  New  York,  and  by  stripping  all  the  forts  below  he 
could  have  advanced  with  4,500  men,  but  some  deserters 
from  the  French  told  him  that  Montcalm  had  12,000  men, 
and  Webb  considered  the  task  of  advancing  through  the 
intervening  forest  and  fields  between  him  and  Fort  Henry 
far  too  dangerous  an  operation  to  be  attempted.  Undoubt- 
edly it  would  have  been  a  dangerous  one,  for  the  Indians 
pervaded  the  woods  as  far  as  Fort  Edward.  ISTo  messen- 
ger could  have  got  through  to  inform  Monro  of  his  com- 
ing, and  Montcalm  could  therefore  have  attacked  him  on 
the  march  with  the  greater  part  of  his  force.  Still,  a  brave 
and  determined  general  would  have  made  the  attempt. 
Webb  did  not  do  so,  but  left  Monro  to  his  fate.  He  even 
added  to  its  certainty  by  sending  off  a  letter  to  him  telling 
him  that  he  could  do  nothing  to  assist  him,  and  advising 
him  to  surrender  at  once. 

The  messenger  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  the  forest, 
and  the  note  taken  to  Montcalm,  who,  learning  that  Webb 
did  not  intend  to  advance,  was  able  to  devote  his  whole  at- 
tention to  the  fort.  Montcalm  kept  the  letter  for  several 
days  till  the  English  rampart  was  half  battered  down,  and 
then  sent  it  in  by  an  officer  to  Monro,  hoping  that  it  would 
induce  the  latter  to  surrender.  The  old  soldier,  however, 
remained  firm  in  his  determination  to  hold  out,  even  though 
his  position  was  now  absolutely  hopeless.  The  trenches 
had  been  pushed  forward  until  within  250  yards  of  the 
fort,  and  the  Indians  crept  up  almost  to  the  wall  on  this 
side. 

Two  sorties  were  made — one  from  the  fort,  the  other 
from  the  intrenched  camp;  but  both  were  repulsed  with 
loss.  More  than  300  of  the  defenders  had  been  killed  and 
wounded.  Small-pox  was  raging,  and  the  casemates  were 
crowded  with  sick.  All  their  large  cannon  had  been  burst 
or  disabled,  and  only  seven  small  pieces  were  fit  for  service. 
The  French  battery  in  the  foremost  trench  was  almost  com- 


270  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

pleted,  and  when  this  was  done  the  whole  of  Montcalm's 
thirty-one  cannon  and  fifteen  mortars  would  open  fire,  and 
as  a  breach  had  already  been  effected  in  the  wall,  further 
resistance  would  have  been  madness.  On  the  night  of  the 
8th  it  was  known  in  the  fort  that  a  council  of  war  would 
be  held  in  the  morning,  and  that  undoubtedly  the  fort 
would  surrender. 

James,  with  his  company,  had,  after  escorting  the  cattle 
to  the  fort,  crossed  the  marsh  to  the  intrenched  camp,  as 
the  fort  was  already  crowded  with  troops.  The  company 
therefore  avoided  the  horrors  of  the  siege.  When  the  re- 
port circulated  that  a  surrender  would  probably  be  made 
the  next  morning  Nat  went  to  James. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do,  captain  ?  " 

"  Do,  Nat  ?  Why,  I  have  nothing  to  do.  If  Monro  and 
his  council  decide  to  surrender,  there  is  an  end  of  it.  You 
don't  propose  that  our  company  is  to  fight  Montcalm's 
army  alone,  do  you  ?" 

"No,  I  don't,"  Nat  said  testily;  "there  has  been  a  deal 
too  much  fighting  already.  I  understand  holding  out  till 
the  last  when  there's  a  hope  of  somebody  coming  to  relieve 
you;  but  what's  the  use  of  fighting  and  getting  a  lot  of 
your  men  killed  and  raising  the  blood  of  there  redskin 
devils  to  boiling-point  ?  If  the  colonel  had  given  up  the 
place  at  once  we  should  have  saved  a  loss  of  300  men,  and 
Montcalm  would  have  been  glad  enough  to  let  us  march 
off  to  Fort  Edward." 

"  But  probably  he  will  agree  to  let  us  do  that  now," 
James  said. 

"He  may  agree,"  Nat  said  contemptuously;  "but  how 
about  the  redskins  ?  Do  you  think  that  after  losing  a  lot 
of  their  braves  they  are  going  to  see  us  march  quietly  away 
and  go  home  without  a  scalp  ?  I  tell  you,  captain,  I  know 
redskin  nature,  and  as  sure  as  the  sun  rises  to-morrow  there 
will  be  a  massacre,  and  I  for  one  ain't  going  to  lay  down 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  271 

my  rifle  and  let  the  first  redskin  as  takes  a  fancy  to  my 
scalp  tomahawk  me." 

"  Well,  but  what  do  you  propose,  Nat  ?  " 

"  Well,  captain,  I  have  heard  you  say  yours  is  an  inde- 
pendent command,  and  that  you  can  act  with  the  company 
wherever  you  like.  While  you  are  here  I  know  you  are 
under  the  orders  of  the  colonel;  but  if  you  had  chosen  to 
march  away  on  any  expedition  of  your  own  you  could 
have  done  it/' 

"That  is  so,  Nat;  but  now  the  siege  is  once  begun  1 
don't  know  that  I  should  be  justified  in  marching  away 
even  if  I  could." 

"  But  they  are  going  to  surrender,  I  tell  you,"  Nat  in^ 
sisted.  "  I  don't  see  as  how  it  can  be  your  duty  to  hand 
over  your  company  to  the  French  if  you  can  get  them  clear 
away  so  as  to  fight  for  the  king  again." 

"  What  do  you  say,  Edwards  ?  "  James  asked  his  lieutenant. 

"  I  don't  see  why  we  shouldn't  march  away  if  we  could," 
Edwards  said.  "  Now  that  the  game  is  quite  lost  here  I 
don't  think  any  one  could  blame  you  for  saving  the  com' 
pany  if  possible,  and  I  agree  with  Nat  that  Montcalm  will 
find  it,  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  keep  his  Indians  in 
hand ;  the  French  have  never  troubled  much  on  that  score." 

"Well,  Nat,  what  is  your  plan?"  James  asked  after  a 
pause. 

"The  plan  is  simple  enough,"  Nat  said;  "there  ain't  no 
plan  at  all.  All  we  have  got  to  do  is  to  march  quietly  down 
to  the  lake,  to  take  some  of  the  canoes  that  are  hauled  up 
at  the  mouth  of  the  swamp,  and  to  paddle  quietly  off,  keep- 
ing under  the  trees  on  the  right-hand  side.  There  ain't 
manjr  redskins  in  the  woods  that  way,  and  the  night  is  as 
dark  as  pitch.  We  can  land  eight  or  ten  miles  down  the 
lake  and  then  march  away  to  the  right  so  as  to  get  clean 
round  the  redskins  altogether." 

"  Very  well,  Nat,  I  will  do  it,"  James  said ;  "  it's  a  chance, 


272  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

but  I  think  it's  a  better  chance  than  staying  here,  and  if  1 
should  get  into  a  row  about  it  I  can't  help  it;  I  am  doing 
it  for  the  best." 

The  corps  were  quietly  mustered  and  marched  out  through 
the  gate  of  the  intrenchments  on  the  side  of  the  lake. 

No  questions  were  asked,  for  the  corps  had  several  times 
gone  out  on  its  own  account  and  driven  back  the  Indians 
and  French  pickets.  The  men  had  from  their  first  arri- 
val at  the  fort  laid  aside  their  heavy  boots  and  taken  to 
mocQasins  as  being  better  fitted  for  silent  movement  in  the 
forest.  Therefore  not  a  sound  was  heard  as  under  Nat's 
guidance  they  made  their  way  down  the  slope  into  the 
swamp.  Here  they  were  halted  for  the  moment  and  told 
to  move  with  the  greatest  care  and  silence  and  to  avoid 
snapping  a  bough  or  twig.  This,  however,  was  the  less  im- 
portant as  the  cannon  on  both  sides  were  still  firing  and 
a  constant  rattle  of  musketry  was  going  on  round  the 
fort. 

Presently  they  reached  the  point  where  the  canoes  were 
hauled  up  and  were  told  off  three  to  a  canoe. 

"Follow  my  canoe  in  single  file,"  James  said;  "not  a 
word  si  to  be  spoken,  and  remember  that  a  single  splash  of 
a  paddl©Nwill  bring  the  redskins  down  upon  us;  likely 
enough  there  may  be  canoes  out  upon  the  lake — there  are 
sure  to  be  Indians  in  the  wood." 

"I  don't  think  there's  much  fear,  captain,"  Nat  whis- 
pered. "There's  no  tiring  a  redskin  when  he's  out  on  the 
scout  on  his  own  account,  but  when  he's  acting  with  the 
whites  he's  just  as  lazy  as  a  hog,  and  as  they  must  be  sure 
the  fort  can't  hold  out  many  hours  longer  they  will  be  too 
busy  feasting  and  counting  the  scalps  they  mean  to  take 
to  think  much  about  scouting  to-night." 

"  We  shall  go  very  slowly;  let  every  man  stop  paddling 
the  instant  the  canoe  ahead  of  him  stops,"  were  James's  last 
instructions  as  he  stepped  into  the  stern  of  a  canoe,  while 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  273 

Nat  and  Jonathan  took  the  paddles.  Edwards  was  to  take 
his  place  in  the  last  canoe  in  the  line. 

Without  the  slightest  sound  the  canoes  paddled  out  into 
the  lake  and  then  made  for  the  east  shore.  They  were  soon 
close  to  the  trees,  and  slowly  and  noiselessly  they  kept  their 
way  just  outside  the  screen  afforded  by  the  boughs  droop- 
ing down  almost  into  the  water.  Only  now  and  then  the 
slightest  splash  was  to  be  heard  along  the  line,  and  this 
might  well  have  been  taken  for  the  spring  of  a  tiny  fish 
feeding. 

Several  times  when  he  thought  he  heard  a  slight  sound 
in  the  forest  on  his  right  Nat  ceased  paddling  and  lay  for 
some  minutes  motionless,  the  canoes  behind  doing  the  same. 
So  dark  was  it  that  they  could  scarce  see  the  trees  close 
beside  them,  while  the  bright  flashes  from  the  guns  from 
fort  and  batteries  only  seemed  to  make  the  darkness  more 
intense.  It  was  upward  of  an  hour  before  James  felt  from 
the  greater  speed  with  which  the  canoe  was  travelling  that 
Nat  believed  that  he  had  got  beyond  the  spot  where  any 
Indians  were  likely  to  be  watching  in  the  forest. 

Faster  and  faster  the  boat  glided  along,  but  the  scouts 
were  still  far  from  rowing  their  hardest.  For  although  the 
whole  of  the  men  were  accustomed  to  the  use  of  the  paddle 
the  other  boats  would  be  unable  to  keep  up  with  that  driven 
by  the  practised  arms  of  the  leaders  of  the  file.  After  pad- 
dling for  another  hour  and  a  half  the  scout  stopped. 

"We  are  far  enough  away  now,"  Nat  said;  "there  ain't 
no  chance  in  the  world  of  any  redskins  being  in  the  woods 
so  far  out  as  this;  the  hope  of  scalps  will  have  taken  them 
all  down  close  to  the  fort.     We  can  land  safely  now/' 

The  word  was  passed  down  the  line  of  canoes,  the  boats 
glided  through  the  screen  of  foliage  and  the  men  landed. 

"  Better  pull  the  canoes  ashore,  captain.  If  we  left  them 
in  the  water  one  might  break  adrift  and  float  out  beyond 
the  trees.  Some  redskin  or  other  would  make  it  out,  and 
18 


274  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

we  should  have  a  troop  of  them  on  our  trail  before  an  hour 
had  passed." 

"There's  no  marching  through  the  forest  now,  Nat," 
James  said.     "  I  can't  see  my  own  hand  close  to  my  face." 

"  That's  so,  captain,  and  we'd  best  halt  till  daylight.  I 
could  make  my  way  along  easy  enough,  but  some  of  these 
fellows  would  be  pitching  over  stumps  or  catching  their 
feet  in  a  creeper,  and  like  enough  letting  off  their  pieces  as 
they  went  down.  We  may  just  as  well  stay  where  we  are; 
they  ain't  likely  to  miss  us  even  in  the  camp,  and  sartin 
the  redskins  can't  have  known  we  have  gone.  So  there's 
no  chance  whatever  of  pursuit,  and  there  ain't  nothing  to 
be  gained  by  making  haste." 

James  gave  the  order.  The  men  felt  about  till  each 
found  a  space  of  ground  sufficiently  large  to  lie  down  upon, 
and  soon  all  were  asleep  except  the  two  scouts,  who  said  at 
once  that  they  would  watch  bj  turns  till  daylight.  As  soon 
as  it  was  sufficiently  light  to  see  in  the  forest  the  band  were 
again  in  motion.  They  made  due  east  until  they  crossed 
the  trail  leading  from  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain  to  Fort 
Edward,  kept  on  for  another  hour,  and  then  turning  to  the 
south  made  in  the  direction  of  Albany,  for  it  would  have 
been  dangerous  to  approach  Fort  Edward,  round  which 
the  Indians  were  sure  to  be  scattered  thickly. 

For  the  first  two  hours  after  starting  the  distant  roar  of 
the  guns  had  gone  on  unceasingly,  then  it  suddenly  stopped. 

"  They  have  hoisted  the  white  flag,"  Edwards  said.  "  It 
is  all  over.  Thank  God,  we  are  well  out  of  it!  I  don't 
mind  fighting,  Walsham,  but  to  be  massacred  by  those  In- 
dians is  a  hideous  idea." 

"  I  am  glad  we  are  out  of  it  too,"  James  agreed ;  "  but  I 
cannot  think  that  Montcalm  with  so  large  a  force  of  French 
regulars  at  his  command  will  allow  those  fiendish  Indians 
to  massacre  the  prisoners." 

"  I  hope  not,"  Edwards  said.     "  It  will  be  a  disgrace  in- 


THE   WINNING   OF   A   CONTINENT.  275 

deed  to  him  and  his  officers  if  he  does;  but  you  know  what 
the  Indians  are  better  than  I  do,  and  you  have  heard  Nat's 
opinion.  You  see  if  Montcalm  were  to  use  force  against 
the  Indians  the  whole  of  them  would  go  off,  and  then  there 
would  be  an  end  to  any  hope  of  the  French  beating  the 
colonists  in  the  long  run.  Montcalm  daren't  break  with 
them.  It's  a  horrible  position  for  an  officer  and  a  gentle- 
man to  be  placed  in.  Montcalm  did  manage  to  prevent  the 
redskins  from  massacring  the  garrison  of  Oswego,  but  it 
was  as  much  as  he  could  do,  and  it  will  be  ten  times  as  diffi- 
cult now  that  their  blood  is  up  with  this  week  of  hard 
fighting  and  the  loss  of  many  of  their  warriors.  Anyhow 
I  am  glad  I  am  out  of  it,  even  if  the  big-wigs  consider  we 
had  no  right  to  leave  the  fort  and  break  us  for  it.  I  would 
rather  lose  my  commission  than  run  the  risk  of  being  mas- 
sacred in  cold  blood." 

James  agreed  with  him. 

For  two  days  they  continued  their  march  through  the 
forest,  using  every  precaution  against  surprise.  They  saw, 
however,  nothing  of  the  enemy,  and  emerged  from  the  for- 
est on  the  evening  of  the  second  day's  march  at  a  distance 
of  a  few  miles  from  Albany. 

They  had  not  reached  that  town  many  hours  when  they 
learned  that  Nat's  sombre  predictions  had  been  fulfilled. 
The  council  of  war  in  the  fort  agreed  that  further  resist- 
ance was  impossible,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Young  went 
out  with  a  white  flag  to  arrange  the  terms  of  surrender 
with  Montcalm.  It  was  agreed  that  the  English  troops 
should  march  out  with  the  honors  of  war  and  be  escorted 
to  Fort  Edward  by  a  detachment  of  French  troops,  that 
they  should  not  serve  for  eighteen  months,  and  that  all 
French  prisoners  captured  in  America  since  the  war  began 
should  be  given  up  within  three  months. 

The  stores,  ammunition,  and  artillery  were  to  be  handed 
over  to  the  French,  except  one  field-piece  which  the  garri- 


276  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

son  were  to  be  allowed  to  retain  in  recognition  of  theh 
brave  defence.  Before  signing  the  capitulation  Montcalm 
summoned  the  Indian  chiefs  before  him  and  asked  them 
to  consent  to  the  conditions  and  to  restrain  their  young 
braves  from  any  disorder.  They  gave  their  approval,  and 
promised  to  maintain  order. 

The  garrison  then  evacuated  the  fort  and  marched  to 
"join  their  comrades  in  the  intrenched  camp.  No  sooner 
had  they  moved  out  than  a  crowd  of  Indians  rushed  into 
the  fort  through  the  breach  and  embrasures  and  butchered 
all  the  wounded  who  had  been  left  behind  to  be  cared  for 
by  the  French.  Having  committed  this  atrocity  the  In- 
dians and  many  of  the  Canadians  rushed  up  to  the  in- 
trenched camp  where  the  English  were  now  collected.  The 
French  guards  who  had  been  stationed  there  did  nothing 
to  keep  them  out;  and  they  wandered  about  threatening 
and  insulting  the  terrified  women,  telling  the  men  that 
every  one  should  be  massacred,  and  plundering  the  baggage. 

Montcalm  did  his  best  by  entreaty  to  restrain  the.  In- 
dians, but  he  took  no  steps  whatever  to  give  effectual  protec- 
tion to  the  prisoners,  and  that  he  did  not  do  so  will  remain 
an  ineffaceable  blot  upon  his  fame.  Seeing  the  disposition 
of  the  redskins  he  should  have  ordered  up  all  the  regular 
French  troops  and  marched  the  English  garrison  under 
their  protection  to  Fort  Edward  in  accordance  with  the 
terms  of  surrender;  and  he  should  have  allowed  the  Eng- 
lish troops  to  again  fill  their  pouches  with  cartridge,  by 
which  means  they  would  have  been  able  to  fight  in  their 
own  defence. 

The  next  morning  the  English  marched  at  daybreak. 
Seventeen  wounded  men  were  left  behind  in  the  huts,  hav- 
ing been,  in  accordance  with  the  agreement,  handed  over 
to  the  charge  of  a  French  surgeon,  but  as  he  was  not  there 
in  the  morning  the  regimental  surgeon,  Miles  Whitworth, 
remained  with  them  attending  to  their  wants.     The  French 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  27? 

surgeon  had  caused  special  sentinels  to  be  placed  for  their 
protection,  hut  these  were  now  removed  when  they  were 
needed  most. 

At  five  in  the  morning  the  Indians  entered  the  huts, 
dragged  out  the  inmates,  tomahawked  and  scalped  them 
before  the  eyes  of  Whitworth,  and  in  the  presence  of  La 
Corne  and  other  Canadian  officers,  as  well  as  of  a  French 
guard  stationed  within  forty  feet  of  the  spot — none  of 
whom,  as  Whitworth  declared  on  oath,  did  anything  to 
protect  the  wounded  men. 

The  Indians  in  the  mean  time  had  begun  to  plunder  the 
baggage  of  the  column.  Monro  complained  to  the  officers 
of  the  French  escort  that  the  terms  of  the  capitulation 
were  broken;  but  the  only  answer  was  that  he  had  better 
give  up  all  the  baggage  to  the  Indians  to  appease  them. 
But  it  had  no  effect  in  restraining  the  passion  of  the  In- 
dians; they  rushed  upon  the  column,  snatching  caps,  coats, 
and  weapons  from  men  and  officers,  tomahawking  all  who 
resisted,  and  seizing  upon  shrieking  women  and  children, 
carried  them  away  or  murdered  them  on  the  spot.  A  rush 
was  made  upon  the  New  Hampshire  men  at  the  rear  of  the 
column,  and  eighty  of  them  were  killed  or  carried  away. 

The  Canadian  officers  did  nothing  at  all  to  try  to  assuage 
the  fury  of  the  Indians,  and  the  officers  of  the  Canadian 
detachment,  which  formed  the  advance-guard  of  the  French 
escort,  refused  any  protection  to  the  men,  telling  them 
they  had  better  take  to  the  woods  and  shift  for  themselves. 
Montcalm  and  the  principal  French  officers  did  everything 
short  of  the  only  effectual  step,  namely,  the  ordering  up  of 
the  French  regular  troops  to  save  the  English.  They  ran 
about  among  the  yelling  Indians  imploring  them  to  desist, 
but  in  vain. 

Some  seven  or  eight  hundred  of  the  English  were  seized 
and  carried  off  by  the  savages,  while  some  seventy  or  eighty 
were  massacred  on  the  spot.     The  column  attempted  no 


278  WITH    WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

resistance,  none  had  ammunition,  and  of  the  colonial  troops 
very  few  were  armed  with  bayonets.  Had  any  resistance 
been  offered,  there  can  be  no  doubt  all  would  have  been 
massacred  by  the  Indians. 

Many  of  the  fugitives  ran  back  to  the  fort  and  took  ref- 
uge there,  and  Montcalm  recovered  from  the  Indians  more 
than  four  hundred  of  those  they  had  carried  off.  These 
were  all  sent  under  a  strong  guard  to  Fort  Edward.  The 
greater  part  of  the  survivors  of  the  column  dispersed  into 
the  woods,  and  made  their  way  in  scattered  parties  to  Fort 
Edward.  Here  cannon  had  been  fired  at  intervals  to  serve 
as  a  guide  to  the  fugitives,  but  many  no  doubt  perished  in 
the  woods. 

On  the  morning  after  the  massacre  the  Indians  left  in  a 
body  for  Montreal,  taking  with  them  two  hundred  prison- 
ers to  be  tortured  and  murdered  on  their  return  to  their 
villages. 

Few  events  cast  a  deeper  disgrace  on  the  arms  of  France 
than  this  massacre,  committed  in  defiance  of  their  pledged 
honor  for  the  safety  of  their  prisoners,  and  in  sight  of  four 
thousand  French  troops,  not  a  man  of  whom  was  set  in 
motion  to  prevent  it.  These  facts  are  not  taken  only  from 
English  sources,  but  from  the  letters  of  French  officers, 
and  from  the  journal  of  the  Jesuit  Eoubaud,  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  Christianized  Indians,  who,  according  to  his 
own  account,  were  no  less  ferocious  and  cruel  than  the  un- 
converted tribes. 

The  number  of  those  who  perished  in  the  massacre  is  un- 
certain. Captain  Jonathan  Carver,  a  colonial  officer,  puts 
the  killed  and  captured  at  1,500.  A  French  writer,  whose 
work  was  published  at  Montreal,  says  that  they  were  all 
killed,  except  seven  hundred  who  were  captured,  but  this 
is,  of  course,  a  gross  exaggeration.  General  Levis  and  Eou- 
baud, who  were  certain  to  have  made  the  best  of  the  mat- 
ter, acknowledged  that  they  saw  some  fifty  corpses  scattered 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  279 

on  the  ground,  but  this  does  not  include  those  murdered 
in  the  fort  and  camp. 

Probably  the  total  number  killed  was  about  two  hundred, 
and  besides  these  must  be  counted  the  two  hundred  pris- 
oners carried  off  to  be  tortured  by  the  Indians.  The  greater 
portion  of  these  were  purchased  from  the  Indians  in  ex- 
change for  rum  by  Vaudreuil,  the  governor  at  Montreal; 
but  to  the  eternal  disgrace  of  this  man  he  suffered  many 
of  them  to  be  carried  off,  and  did  not  even  interfere  when 
publicly  in  the  sight  of  the  whole  town  the  Indians  mur- 
dered some  of  the  prisoners,  and  not  content  with  eating 
them  themselves,  forced  their  comrades  to  partake  of  the 
flesh.  Bouganville,  one  of  the  aides-de-camp  of  Montcalm, 
was  present,  and  testified  to  the  fact,  and  the  story  is  con- 
firmed by  the  intendant  Bigot,  a  friend  of  the  governor. 
The  ferocity  of  the  Indians  cost  them  dear.  They  had  dug 
up  and  scalped  the  corpses  in  the.  graveyard  of  Fort  Wil- 
liam Henry.  Many  of  these  had  died  of  small-pox,  and 
the  savages  took  the  infection  home  to  their  villages,  where 
great  n umbel's  perished  of  the  disease. 

As  soon  as  their  Indian  allies  had  left,  the  French  sol- 
diers were  set  to  work  demolishing  the  English  fort,  and 
the  operation  was  completed  by  the  destruction  by  fire  of 
the  remains.     The  army  then  returned  to  Crown  Point. 

In  view  of  the  gross  breach  of  the  articles  of  capitulation 
by  the  French,  the  English  government  refused  also  to  be 
bound  by  it,  and  the  French  prisoners  in  their  hands  were 
accordingly  retained.  Colonel  Monro  himself  was  one  of 
those  who  survived.  He  had  made  his  way  through  the 
savages  back  to  the  fort  to  demand  that  the  protection  of 
the  French  troops  should  be  given  to  the  soldiers,  and  so 
escaped  the  massacre. 

Upon  his  arrival  at  Albany,  James  reported  to  the  officer 
in  command  there  the  reasons  which  had  induced  him  to 
quit  the  fort  with  his  company.     These  reasons  were  ap- 


280  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

proved  of,  but  the  officer  advised  James  to  send  in  a  writ- 
ten report  to  General  Webb,  and  to  march  at  once  to  Fort 
Edward  and  place  himself  under  that  officer's  directions. 

When  he  reached  the  fort  the  fugitives  were  coming  in 
from  the  woods.  James  at  once  reported  himself  to  the 
general,  and  handed  in  his  written  statement.  At  the  same 
time  he  gave  his  reasons  in  a  few  words  for  the  course  he 
had  taken.  Webb  was  far  too  much  excited  by  the  news 
of  the  terrible  events  which  had  taken  place,  and  for  which, 
as  he  could  not  but  be  aware,  he  would  be  to  some  extent 
held  responsible  by  public  opinion  for  having  refused  to 
move  to  Monro's  assistance,  to  pay  much  attention  to  the 
young  officer's  statement. 

"  You  were  quite  right,  sir,  quite  right  to  carry  off  your 
command,"  he  said  hastily.  "  Thank  God  there  are  so  many 
the  fewer  of  his  majesty's  troops  sacrificed !  You  will 
please  take  your  company  out  at  once  into  the  Aroods,  they 
are  accustomed  to  the  work,  which  is  more  than  any  of  my 
troops  here  are ;  divide  them  into  four  parties,  and  let  them 
scour  the  forest  and  bring  in  such  of  the  fugitives  as  they 
can  find.  Let  them  take  as  much  provision  and  rum  as 
they  can  carry,  for  many  of  the  fugitives  will  be  starving." 

James  executed  his  orders,  and  during  the  next  five  days 
sent  in  a  considerable  number  of  exhausted  men,  who,  hope- 
lessly lost  in  the  woods,  must  have  perished  unless  they  had 
been  discovered  by  his  party. 

Had  Montcalm  marched  direct  upon  Fort  Edward  he 
could  doubtless  have  captured  it,  for  the  fall  of  Fort  Wil- 
liam Henry  had  so  scared  Webb  that  he  would  probably 
have  retreated  the  moment  he  heard  the  news  of  Montcalm's 
advance,  although  within  a  day  or  two  of  the  fall  of  the 
fort  many  thousands  of  colonial  militia  had  arrived.  As 
soon,  however,  as  it  was  known  that  Montcalm  had  retired, 
the  militia,  who  were  altogether  unsupplied  with  the  means 
of  keeping  the  field,  returned  to  their  homes. 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  281 

Loudon  on  his  way  back  from  the  unsuccessful  expedi- 
tion against  Louisbourg,  received  the  news  of  the  calamity 
at  Fort  William  Henry.  He  returned  too  late  to  do  any- 
thing to  retrieve  that  disaster,  and  determined  iu  the  spring 
to  take  the  offensive  by  attacking  Ticonderoga.  This  had 
been  left  on  the  retirement  of  Montcalm  with  a  small  gar- 
rison commanded  by  Captain  Hepecourt,  who,  during  the 
winter,  was  continually  harassed  by  the  corps  of  Captain 
Eogers  and  James  Walsham's  scouts. 

Toward  the  spring,  receiving  reinforcements,  Hepecourt 
caught  Eogers  and  a  hundred  and  eighty  men  in  an  ambush, 
and  killed  almost  all  of  them,  Eogers  himself  and  some 
twenty  or  thirty  men  alone  escaping.  In  the  spring  there 
was  a  fresh  change  of  plans,  the  expedition  against  Ticon- 
deroga was  given  up,  as  another  attempt  at  Louisbourg 
was  about  to  be  made. 

The  English  government  were  determined  that  the  disas- 
trous delays  which  had  caused  the  failure  of  the  last  ex- 
pedition should  not  be  repeated.  Loudon  was  recalled, 
and  to  General  Abercromby,  the  second  in  command,  was 
intrusted  the  charge  of  the  forces  in  the  colonies.  Colonel 
Amherst  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  and  ap- 
pointed to  command  the  expedition  from  England  against 
Louisbourg,  having  under  him  Brigadier-Generals  Whit- 
more,  Lawrence,  and  Wolfe.  Before  the  winter  was  ended 
two  fleets  put  to  sea;  the  one,  under  Admiral  Boscawen, 
was  destined  for  Louisbourg;  while  the  other,  under  Ad- 
miral Osborne,  sailed  for  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  to  inter- 
cept the  French  fleet  of  Admiral  La  Clue,  which  was  about 
to  sail  from  Toulon  for  America. 

At  the  same  time  Sir  Edward  Hawke  with  seven  ships  of 
the  line  and  three  frigates  sailed  for  Eochefort,  Avhere  a 
French  squadron  with  a  fleet  of  transports  with  troops  for 
America  were  lying.  The  two  latter  expeditions  were  per- 
fectly successful.     Osborne  prevented  La  Clue  from  leaving 


282  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

the  Mediterranean.  Hawke  drove  the  enemy's  vessels 
ashore  at  Rochefort,  and  completely  broke  up  the  expedi- 
tion. Thus  Canada  at  the  critical  period,  when  the  Eng- 
lish were  preparing  to  strike  a  great  blow  at  her,  was  cut  off 
from  all  assistance  from  the  mother  country  and  left  to  her 
own  resources.  As  before,  Halifax  was  the  spot  where  the 
troojos  from  the  colonies  were  to  meet  the  fleet  from  Eng- 
land and  the  troops  who  came  out  under  their  convoy,  and 
here  on  the  28th  of  May  the  whole  expedition  was  collected. 

The  colonies  had  again  been  partially  stripped  of  their 
defenders,  and  five  hundred  provincial  rangers  accom- 
panied the  regulars.  James  Walsham's  corps  was  left  for 
service  on  the  frontier,  while  the  regiments  to  which  they 
belonged  sailed  with  the  force  destined  for  the  siege  of 
Louisbourg.  This  fortress  stood  at  the  mouth  of  a  land- 
locked bay  on  the  stormy  coast  of  Cape  Breton.  Since  the 
peace  of  Aix-la-Cliapelle  vast  sums  had  been  spent  in  re- 
pairing and  strengthening  it,  and  it  was  by  far  the  strong- 
est fortress  in  English  or  French  America. 

The  circuit  of  its  fortifications  was  more  than  a  mile  and 
a  half,  and  the  town  contained  about  four  thousand  inhab- 
itants. The  garrison  consisted  of  the  battalions  of  Artois, 
Bourgogue,  Cambis,  and  Volontaires  Etrangers,  with  two 
companies  of  artillery  and  twenty-four  of  colonial  troops, 
in  all  three  thousand  and  eighty  men  besides  officers.  In 
the  harbor  lay  five  ships  of  the  line  and  seven  frigates,  car- 
rying five  hundred  and  forty-four  guns  and  about  three 
thousand  men,  and  there  were  two  hundred  and  nineteen 
cannons  and  seventeen  mortars  mounted  on  the  ramparts 
and  outworks,  and  forty-four  in  reserve.  Of  the  outworks 
the  strongest  were  the  grand  battery  at  Light-house  Point 
at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  that  on  Goat  Island,  a  rocky 
islet  at  its  entrance. 

The  strongest  front  of  the  works  was  on  the  land  side 
across  the  base  of  the  triangular  peninsula  on  which  the 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  283 

town  stood.  This  front,  twelve  hundred  yards  in  extent, 
reached  from  the  sea  on  the  left  to  the  harbor  on  the  right, 
and  consisted  of  four  strong  bastions  with  connecting 
works.  The  best  defence  of  Louisbourg,  however,  was  the 
craggy  shore,  which  for  leagues  on  either  side  was  accessi- 
ble only  at  a  few  points,  and  even  there  a  landing  could 
only  be  effected  with  the  greatest  difficulty. 

All  these  points  were  watched,  for  an  English  squadron 
of  nine  ships  of  war  had  been  cruising  off  the  place,  endeav- 
oring to  prevent  supplies  from  arriving;  but  they  had  been 
so  often  blown  off  by  gales  that  the  French  ships  had  been 
able  to  enter,  and  on  the  2d  of  June,  when  the  English 
expedition  came  in  sight,  more  than  a  year's  supply  of  pro- 
visions was  stored  up  in  the  town. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


LOUISBOURG   AND    TICONDEROGA. 


All  eyes  in  the  fleet  were  directed  toward  the  rocky  shore 
of  Gabarus  Bay,  a  flat  indentation  some  three  miles  across, 
its  eastern  extremity,  White  Point,  being  a  mile  to  the  west 
of  Louisbourg.  The  sea  was  rough,  and  the  white  masses 
of  surf  were  thrown  high  up  upon  the  face  of  the  rock 
along  the  coast  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

A  more  difficult  coast  on  which  to  effect  a  landing  could 
not  have  been  selected.  There  were  but  three  points  where 
boats  could  even  in  fine  weather  get  to  shore — namely, 
White  Point,  Flat  Point,  and  Fresh  Water  Cove.  To  cover 
these  the  French  had  erected  several  batteries,  and  as  soon 
as  the  English  fleet  was  in  sight  they  made  vigorous  prepa- 
rations to  repel  a  landing.  Boats  were  at  once  lowered  in 
order  to  make  a  reconnaissance  of  the  shore.  Generals  Am- 
herst, Lawrence,  and  Wolfe  all  took  part  in  it,  and  a  num- 
ber of  naval  officers  in  their  boats  daringly  approached  the 
shore  to  almost  within  musket-shot. 

When  they  returned  in  the  afternoon  they  made  their 
reports  to  the  admiral,  and  these  reports  all  agreed  with  his 
own  opinion — namely,  that  there  was  but  little  chance  of 
success.  One  naval  captain  alone,  an  old  officer  named 
Fergusson,  advised  the  admiral  to  hold  no  council  of  war, 
but  to  take  the  responsibility  on  himself  and  to  make  the 
attempt  at  all  risks. 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  285 

"  Why,  admiral,"  he  said,  "  the  very  children  at  home 
would  laugh  at  us  if  for  a  second  time  we  sailed  here  with 
an  army  and  then  sailed  away  again  without  landing  a  man." 

"  So  they  would,  Fergusson,  so  they  would,"  the  admiral 
said.  "  If  I  have  to  stop  here  till  winter  I  won't  go  till  I 
have  carried  out  my  orders  and  put  the  troops  ashore." 

In  addition  to  the  three  possible  landing-places  already 
named,  was  one  to  the  east  of  the  town  named  Lorambec, 
and  it  was  determined  to  send  a  regiment  to  threaten  a  land- 
ing at  this  place,  while  the  army,  formed  into  three  divis- 
ions, were  to  threaten  the  other  points  and  effect  a  landing 
at  one  or  all  of  them  if  it  should  be  found  possible. 

On  the  next  day,  however,  the  3d  of  June,  the  surf  was 
so  high  that  nothing  could  be  attempted.  On  the  4th  there 
was  a  thick  fog  and  a  gale,  and  the  frigate  Trent  struck  on 
a  rock,  and  some  of  the  transports  were  nearly  blown  on 
shore.  The  sea  was  very  heavy,  and  the  vessels  rolled  tre- 
mendously at  their  anchors.  Most  of  the  troops  suffered 
terribly  from  sea-sickness.  The  next  day  the  weather  con- 
tinued thick  and  stormy.  On  the  6th  there  was  fog,  but 
toward  noon  the  wind  went  down,  whereupon  the  signal 
was  made,  the  boats  were  lowered,  and  the  troops  took  their 
places  in  them. 

Scarcely  had  they  done  so  when  the  wind  rose  again,  and 
the  sea  got  up  so  rapidly  that  the  landing  was  postponed. 
The  next  day  the  fog  and  heavy  surf  continued,  but  in  the 
evening  the  sea  grew  calmer,  and  orders  were  issued  for  the 
troops  to  take  to  the  boats  at  two  o'clock  next  morning. 
This  was  done,  and  the  frigates  got  under  sail,  and  steered 
for  the  four  points  at  which  the  real  or  pretended  attacks 
were  to  be  made,  and  anchoring  within  easy,  range  opened 
fire  soon  after  daylight,  while  the  boats  in  three  divisions 
rowed  toward  the  shore. 

The  division  under  Wolfe  consisted  of  twelve  companies 
of  Grenadiers,  with  the  Light  Infantry,  Fraser's  Highland- 


286  WITH   WOLFE   IN    CANADA:    OR, 

ers,  and  the  New  England  Rangers.  Fresh  Water  Cove 
was  a  crescent-shaped  beach  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  with 
rocks  at  each  end.  On  the  shore  above  lay  .1,000  French- 
men under  Lieutenant-Colonel  De  St.  Julien,  with  eight 
cannons  on  swivels  planted  to  sweep  every  part  of  the 
beach.  The  intrenchments  behind  which  the  troops  were 
lying  were  covered  in  front  by  spruce  and  fir  trees  felled 
and  laid  on  the  ground  with  the  tops  outward. 

Not  a  shot  was  fired  until  the  English  boats  approached 
the  beach,  then  from  behind  the  leafy  screen  a  deadly  storm 
of  grape  and  musketry  was  poured  upon  them.  It  was  clear 
at  once  that  to  advance  would  be  destruction,  and  Wolfe 
waved  his  hand  as  a  signal  to  the  boats  to  sheer  off.  On 
the  right  of  the  line,  and  but  little  exposed  to  the  fire,  were 
three  boats  of  the  Light  Infantry  under  Lieutenants  Hop- 
kins and  Brown  and  Ensign  Grant,  who,  mistaking  the 
signal,  or  wilfully  misinterpreting  it,  dashed  for  the  shore 
directly  before  them.  It  was  a  hundred  yards  or  so  east  of 
the  beach — a  craggy  coast,  lashed  by  the  breakers,  but  shel- 
tered from  the  cannon  by  a  small  projecting  point. 

The  three  young  officers  leaped  ashore,  followed  by  their 
men.  Major  Scott,  who  commanded  the  Light  Infantry  and 
Eangers,  was  in  the  next  boat,  and  at  once  followed  the 
others,  putting  his  boat's  head  straight  to  the  shore.  The 
boat  was  crushed  to  pieces  against  the  rocks;  some  of  the 
men  were  drowned,  but  the  rest  scrambled  up  the  rocks 
and  joined  those  who  had  first  landed.  They  were  instantly 
attacked  by  the  French,  and  half  of  the  little  party  were 
killed  or  wounded  before  the  rest  of  the  division  could 
come  to  their  assistance. 

Some  of  the  boats  were  upset  and  others  stove  in,  but 
most  of  the  men  scrambled  ashore,  and  as  soon  as  he  landed 
Wolfe  led  them  up  the  rocks,  where  they  formed  in  com- 
pact order  and  carried  with  the  bayonet  the  nearest  French 
battery.     The  other  divisions,  seeing  that  Wolfe  had  ef- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  287 

fected  a  landing,  came  rapidly  up,  and  as  the  French  at- 
tention was  now  distracted  by  Wolfe's  attack  on  the  left, 
Amherst  and  Lawrence  were  able  to  land  at  the  other  end 
of  the  beach,  and  with  their  divisions  attacked  the  French 
on  the  right.  These,  assaulted  on  both  sides,  and  fearing 
to  be  cut  off  from  the  town,  abandoned  their  cannon  and 
fled  into  the  woods.  Some  seventy  of  them  were  taken 
prisoners  and  fifty  killed.  The  rest  made  their  way 
through  the  woods  and  marshes  to  Louisbourg,  and  the 
French,  in  the  other  batteries  commanding  the  landing- 
places,  seeing  that  the  English  were  now  firmly  established 
on  the  shore,  also  abandoned  the  positions  and  retreated 
to  the  town. 

General  Amherst  established  the  English  camp  just  be- 
3'ond  the  range  of  the  cannon  on  the  ramparts,  and  the 
fleet  set  to  work  to  land  guns  and  stores  at  Flat  Point 
Cove.  For  some  days  this  work  went  on ;  but  so  violent 
was  the  surf  that  more  than  a  hundred  boats  were  stove 
in  in  accomplishing  it,  and  none  of  the  siege  guns  could 
be  landed  till  the  18th.  While  the  sailors  were  so  engaged 
the  troops  were  busy  making  roads  and  throwing  up  re- 
doubts to  protect  their  position. 

Wolfe,  with  1,200  men,  made  his  way  right  round  the 
harbor  and  took  possession  of  the  battery  at  Lighthouse 
Point  which  the  French  had  abandoned,  planted  guns  and 
mortars  there,  and  opened  fire  on  the  battery  on  the  islet 
which  guarded  the  entrance  to  the  harbor,  while  other 
batteries  were  raised  at  different  points  along  the  shore 
and  opened  fire  upon  the  French  ships.  These  replied, 
and  the  artillery  duel  went  on  night  and  day,  until,  on  the 
25th,  the  battery  on  the  islet  was  silenced. 

Leaving  a  portion  of  his  force  in  the  batteries  he,  had 
erected,  Wolfe  returned  to  the  main  army  in  front  of  the 
town.  In  the  mean  time  Amherst  had  not  been  idle.  Day 
and  night  a  thousand  men  had  been  employed  making  a 


288  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

covered  road  across  a  swamp  to  a  hillock  less  than  half  a 
mile  from  the  ramparts.  The  labor  was  immense,  and  the 
troops  worked  knee  deep  in  mud  and  water. 

When  Wolfe  had  silenced  the  battery  on  the  islet  the 
way  was  open  for  the  English  fleet  to  enter  and  engage  the 
ships  and  town  from  the  harbor,  but  the  French  took  ad- 
vantage of  a  dark  and  foggy  night  and  sank  six  ships  across 
'the  entrance.  On  the  25th  the  troops  had  made  the  road 
to  the  hillock  and  began  to  fortify  themselves  there  under 
a  heavy  fire  from  the  French ;  while  on  the  left,  toward  the 
sea,  about  a  third  of  a  mile  from  the  Princess's  Bastion, 
Wolfe,  with  a  strong  detachment,  began  to  throw  up  a  re- 
doubt. 

On  the  night  of  the  9th  of  July  600  French  troops  sallied 
out  and  attacked  this  work.  The  English,  though  fighting 
desperately,  were  for  a  time  driven  back;  but  being  rein- 
forced, they  drove  the  French  back  into  the  town.  Each 
day  the  English  lines  drew  closer  to  the  town.  The  French 
frigate  Echo,  under  cover  of  a  fog,  had  been  sent  to  Quebec 
for  aid,  but  she  was  chased  and  captured.  The  frigate 
Arethuse,  on  the  night  of  the  14th  of  July,  was  towed 
through  the  obstructions  at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and 
passing  through  the  English  ships  in  a  fog  succeeded  in 
getting  away.  Only  five  vessels  of  the  French  fleet  now 
remained  in  the  harbor,  and  these  were  but  feebly  manned, 
as  2,000  of  the  officers  and  seamen  had  landed  and  were 
encamped  in  the  town. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  16th  a  party  of  English  led  by 
Yfolfe  suddenly  dashed  forward,  and  driving  back  a  com- 
pany of  French  seized  some  rising  ground  within  three 
hundred  yards  of  the  ramparts  and  began  to  intrench  them- 
selves there.  All  night  the  French  kept  up  a  furious  fire 
at  the  spot,  but  by  morning  the  English  had  completed 
their  intrenchment,  and  from  this  point  pushed  on  until 
they  had  reached  the  foot  of  the  glacis.     On  the  21st  the 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  289 

French  man-of-war  Gelebre  was  set  on  fire  by  the  explosion 
of  a  shell.  The  wind  blew  the  flames  into  the  rigging  of 
two  of  her  consorts,  and  these  also  caught  fire,  and  the 
three  ships  burned  to  the  water's  edge. 

Several  fires  were  occasioned  in  the  town,  and  the  Eng- 
lish guns,  of  which  a  great  number  were  now  in  position, 
kept  up  a  storm  of  fire  night  and  day.  On  the  night  of 
the  23d  six  hundred  English  sailors  silently  rowed  into  the 
harbor,  cut  the  cables  of  the  two  remaining  French  men- 
of-war,  and  tried  to  tow  them  out.  One,  however,  was 
aground,  for  the  tide  was  low.  The  .sailors  therefore  set 
her  on  fire,  and  then  towed  her  consort  out  of  the  harbor 
amid  a  storm  of  shot  and  shell  from  the  French  batteries. 

The  French  position  was  now  desperate.  Only  four  can- 
non on  the  side  facing  the  English  batteries  were  fit  for 
service.  The  masonry  of  the  ramparts  was  shaken,  and 
the  breaches  were  almost  complete.  A  fourth  of  the  garri- 
son were  in  hospital,  and  the  rest  were  worn  out  by  toil. 
Every  house  in  the  place  was  shattered  by  the  English 
artillery,  and  there  was  no  shelter  either  for  the  troops  or 
the  inhabitants.  On  the  26th  the  last  French  cannon  was 
silenced  and  a  breach  effected  in  the  wall,  and  the  French, 
unable  longer  to  resist,  hung  out  the  white  flag.  They  at- 
tempted to  obtain  favorable  conditions,  but  Boscawen  and 
Amherst  insisted  upon  absolute  surrender,  and  the  French, 
wholly  unable  to  resist  further,  accepted  the  terms. 

Thus  fell  the  great  French  stronghold  on  Cape  Breton. 
The  defence  had  been  a  most  gallant  one;  and  Drucour, 
the  governor,  although  he  could  not  save  the  fortress,  had 
yet  delayed  the  English  so  long  before  the  walls  that  it 
was  too  late  in  the  season  now  to  attempt  an  attack  on 
Canada  itself. 

Wolfe  indeed  urged  that  an  expedition  should  at  once 
be  sent  against  Quebec,  but  Boscawen  was  opposed  to  this, 
owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  and  Amherst  was  too 
19 


290  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

slow  and  deliberate  by  nature  to  determine  suddenly  on 
the  enterprise.  He,  however,  sailed  with  six  regiments 
for  Boston  to  reinforce  Abercromby  at  Lake  George.  Wolfe 
carried  out  the  orders  of  the  general  to  destroy  the  French 
settlements  on  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence — a  task  most  re- 
pugnant to  his  humane  nature.  After  this  had  been  ac- 
complished he  sailed  for  England. 

When  Amherst  had  sailed  with  his  expedition  to  the 
attack  of  Louisbourg  he  had  not  left  the  colonists  in  so 
uirprotected  a  state  as  they  had  been  in  the  preceding  year. 
They  on  their  part  responded  nobly  to  the  call  from  Eng- 
land that  a  large  force  should  be  put  in  the  field.  The 
home  government  had  promised  to  supply  arms,  ammuni- 
tion, tents,  and  provisions,  and  to  make  a  grant  toward  the 
pay  and  clothing  of  the  soldiers. 

Massachusetts,  as  usual,  responded  most  freely  and  loy- 
ally to  the  demand.  She  had  already  incurred  a  very  heavy 
debt  by  her  efforts  in  the  war,  and  had  supplied  2,500  men 
— a  portion  of  whom  had  gone  with  Amherst — but  she  now 
raised  7,000  more,  whom  she  paid,  maintained,  and  clothed 
out  of  her  own  resources,  thus  placing  in  the  field  one- 
fourth  of  her  able-bodied  men.  Connecticut  made  equal 
sacrifices,  although  less  exposed  to  danger  of  invasion; 
while  New  Hampshire  sent  out  one-third  of  her  able-bodied 
men. 

In  June  the  combined  British  and  provincial  force  under 
Abercromby  gathered  on  the  site  of  Fort  William  Henry. 
The  force  consisted  of  6,367  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
regular  army  and  9,054  colonial  troops.  Abercromby  him- 
self was  an  infirm  and  incapable  man,  who  owed  his  posi- 
tion to  political  influence.  The  real  command  was  in  the 
hands  of  Brigadier-General  Lord  Howe — a  most  energetic 
and  able  officer,  who  had  during  the  past  year  thoroughly 
studied  forest  warfare,  and  had  made  several  expeditions 
with  the  scouting   parties   of   Rogers  and   other  frontier 


THE   WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  291 

leaders.  He  was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  but  threw  aside  all 
the  trammels  of  the  traditions  of  the  service.  He  made 
both  officers  and  men  dress  in  accordance  with  the  work 
they  had  before  them.  All  had  to  cut  their  hair  close,  to 
wear  leggings  to  protect  them  from  the  briars,  and  to  carry 
in  their  knapsacks  thirty  pounds  of  meal,  which  each  man 
had  to  cook  for  himself. 

The  coats  of  both  the  regulars  and  provincials  were  cut 
short  at  the  waist,  and  no  officer  or  private  was  allowed  to 
carry  more  than  one  blanket  and  a  bear-skin.  Howe  him- 
self lived  as  simply  and  roughly  as  his  men.  The  soldiers 
were  devoted  to  their  young  commander,  and  were  ready 
to  follow  him  to  the  death. 

"  That's  something  like  a  man  for  a  general,"  Nat  said 
enthusiastically  as  he  marched  with  the  Royal  Scouts  past 
the  spot  where  Lord  Howe  was  sitting  on  the  ground  eat- 
ing his  dinner  with  a  pocket  knife.  "  I  have  never  had 
much  hope  of  doing  anything  before  with  the  regulars  in 
the  forest,  but  I  do  think  this  time  we  have  got  a  chance 
of  licking  the  French.     What  do  you  say,  captain  ?  " 

"  It  looks  more  hopeful,  Nat,  certainly.  Under  Loudon 
and  Webb  things  did  not  look  very  bright,  but  this  is  a 
different  sort  of  general  altogether." 

On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July  baggage,  stores,  and 
ammunition  were  all  on  board  the  boats  and  the  whole 
army  embarked  at  daybreak  on  the  5th.  It  was  indeed  a 
magnificent  sight  as  the  flotilla  started.  It  consisted  of 
900  troop  boats,  135  whale-boats,  and  a  large  number  of 
heavy  flat-boats  carrying  the  artillery.  They  were  in  three 
divisions,  the  regulars  in  the  centre,  the  provincial  troops 
on  either  flank. 

Each  corps  had  its  flags  and  its  music,  the  day  was  fair 
and  bright,  and  as  the  flotilla  swept  on  past  the  verdure- 
clad  hills  with  the  sun  shining  brilliantly  down  on  the 
bright  uniforms  and  gay  flags,  on  the  flash  of  oars  and  the 


292  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:    OR, 

glitter  of  weapons,  a  fairer  sight  was  seldom  witnessed. 
At  five  in  the  afternoon  they  reached  Sabbath-day  Point, 
twenty-five  miles  down  the  lake,  where  they  halted  some 
time  for  the  baggage  and  artillery. 

At  eleven  o'clock  they  started  again,  and  by  daybreak 
were  nearing  the  outlet  of  the  lake.  An  advanced  party 
of  the  French  were  watching  their  movements,  and  a  de- 
tachment was  seen  near  the  shore  at  the  spot  where  the. 
French  had  embarked  on  the  previous  year.  The  com- 
panies of  Rogers  and  James  Walsham  landed  and  drove 
them  off,  and  by  noon  the  whole  army  was  on  shore.  The 
troops  started  in  four  columns,  but  so  dense  was  the  forest, 
so  obstructed  with  undergrowth,  that  they  could  scarcely 
make  their  way,  and  after  a  time  even  the  guides  became 
confused  in  the  labyrinth  of  trunks  and  boughs,  and  the 
four  columns  insensibly  drew  near  to  each  other. 

Curiously  the  French  advanced  party,  350  strong,  who 
had  tried  to  retreat,  also  became  lost  in  the  wood,  and  not 
knowing  where  the  English  were,  in  their  wanderings  again 
approached  them.  As  they  did  so  Lord  Howe,  who  with 
Major  Putnam  and  200  rangers  and  scouts  was  at  the  head 
of  the  principal  column,  suddenly  came  upon  them.  A 
skirmish  followed. 

Scarcely  had  it  begun  when  Lord  Howe  dropped  dead, 
shot  through  the  breast.  For  a  moment  something  like  a 
panic  seized  the  army,  who  believed  that  they  had  fallen 
into  an  ambush  and  that  Montcalm's  whole  force  was  upon 
them.  The  rangers,  however,  fought  steadily  until  Rogers' 
Rangers  and  the  Royal  Scouts,  who  were  out  in  front,  came 
back  and  took  the  French  in  the  rear.  Only  about  50  of 
these  escaped,  148  were  captured,  and  the  rest  killed  or 
drowned  in  endeavoring  to  cross  the  rapids. 

The  loss  of  the  English  was  small  in  numbers,  but  the 
death  of  Howe  inflicted  an  irreparable  blow  upon  the  army : 
as  Major  Mante,  who  was  present,  wrote,  "  In  Lord  Howe 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  293 

the  soul  of  General  Abercromby's  army  seemed  to  expire. 
From  the  unhappy  moment  that  the  general  was  deprived 
of  his  advice  neither  order  nor  discipline  was  observed, 
and  a  strange  kind  of  infatuation  usurped  the  place  of 
resolution/' 

The  loss  of  its  gallant  young  general  was  indeed  the  de- 
struction of  an  army  of  15,000  men.  Abercromby  seemed 
paralyzed  by  the  stroke  and  could  do  nothing,  and  the 
soldiers  were  needlessly  kept  under  arms  all  night  in  tbe 
forest,  and  in  the  morning  were  ordered  back  to  the  land- 
ing-place. At  noon,  however,  Bradstreet  was  sent  out  to 
take  possession  of  the  sawmill  at  the  falls  which  Montcalm 
had  abandoned  the  evening  before.  Bradstreet  rebuilt  the 
two  bridges  which  had  been  destroyed  by  the  enemy,  and 
the  army  then  advanced  and  in  the  evening  occupied  the 
deserted  encampment  of  the  French. 

Montcalm  had  for  some  days  been  indecisive  as  to  his 
course.  His  force  was  little  more  than  a  fourth  of  that  of 
the  advancing  foe.  He  had  for  some  time  been  aware  of 
the  storm  which  was  preparing  against  him.  Vaudreuil, 
the  governor,  had  at  first  intended  to  send  a  body  of  Cana- 
dians ^nd  Indians  under  General  Levis  down  the  valley  of 
the  M  mawk  to  create  a  diversion  but  this  scheme  had 
been  abandoned,  and  instead  of  sending  Levis  with  his 
command  to  the  assistance  of  Montcalm  he  had  kept  them 
doing  nothing  at  Montreal.  Just  about  the  hour  Lord 
Howe  was  killed  Montcalm  fell  back  with  his  force  from 
his  position  by  the  falls,  and  resolved  to  make  a  stand  at 
the  base  of  the  peninsula  on  which  Ticonderoga  stands. 

The  outline  of  the  works  had  already  been  traced,  and 
the  soldiers  of  the  battalion  of  Berry  had  made  some 
progress  in  constructing  them.  At  daybreak,  just  as  Aber- 
cromby was  drawing  his  troops  back  to  the  landing-place, 
Montcalm's  whole  army  set  to  work.  Thousands  of  trees 
were  hewn  down  and  the  trunks  piled  one  upon  another 


294  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

so  as  to  form  a  massive  breastwork.  The  line  followed  the 
top  of  the  ridge  with  many  zigzags,  so  that  the  whole  front 
could  be  swept  by  a  fire  of  musketry  and  grape. 

The  log  wall  was  eight  or  nine  feet  high  and  the  upper 
tier  was  formed  of  single  logs  in  which  notches  were  cut 
to  serve  as  loopholes.  The  whole  space  in  front  was  cleared 
of  trees  for  the  distance  of  a  musket-shot,  the  trees  being 
felled  so  that  their  tops  turned  outward,  forming  an  almost 
impenetrable  obstacle,  while  immediately  in  front  of  the 
log  wall  the  ground  was  covered  with  heavy  boughs  over- 
lapping and  interlaced,  their  points  being  sharpened.  This 
position  was  in  fact  absolutely  impregnable  against  an  at- 
tack in  front  by  infantry. 

It  was  true  that  Abercromby  might  have  brought  up  his 
artillery  and  battered  down  the  breastwork,  or  he  might 
have  planted  a  battery  on  the  heights  which  commanded 
the  position,  or  he  might  have  marched  a  portion  of  his 
army  through  the  woods  and  placed  them  on  the  road  be- 
tween Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  and  so  have  cut  off 
the  whole  French  army  and  forced  them  to  surrender,  for 
they  had  but  eight  days'  provisions.  But  Howe  was  dead, 
there  was  no  longer  leading  or  generalship,  and  Abercomby, 
leaving  his  cannon  behind  him,  marched  his  army  to  make 
a  direct  attack  on  the  French  intrenchment. 

In  the  course  of  the  night  Levis,  with  400  of  his  men, 
arrived,  and  the  French  were  in  readiness  for  the  attack. 
The  battalions  of  La  Sarre  and  Languedoc  were  posted  on 
the  left  under  Bourlamaque,  Berry  and  Royal  Boussillon  in 
the  centre  under  Montcalm,  La  Reine,  Beam,  and  Guienne 
on  the  right  under  Levis.  A  detachment  of  volunteers  oc- 
cupied the  low  ground  between  the  breastwork  and  outlet 
of  Lake  George,  while  450  Canadian  troops  held  an  abattis 
on  the  side  toward  Lake  Champlain,  where  they  were  cov- 
ered by  the  guns  of  the  fort. 

Until  noon  the  French  worked  unceasingly  to  strengthen 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  295 

their  position,  then  a  heavy  fire  broke  out  in  front  as  the 
rangers  and  light  infantry  drove  in  their  pickets.  As  soon 
as  the  English  issued  from  the  wood  they  opened  fire,  and 
then  the  regulars,  formed  in  columns  of  attack,  pushed  for- 
ward across  the  rough  ground  with  its  maze  of  fallen  trees. 

They  could  see  the  top  of  the  breastwork  but  not  the 
men  behind  it,  and  as  soon  as  they  were  fairly  entangled  in 
the  trees  a  terrific  fire  opened  upon  them.  The  English 
pushed  up  close  to  the  breastwork,  but  they  could  not  pass 
the  bristling  mass  of  sharpened  branches  which  were  swept 
by  a  terrific  cross-fire  from  the  intrenchment.  After  striv- 
ing for  an  hour  they  fell  back.  Abercromby,  who  had  re- 
mained at  the  mill  a  mile  and  a  half  in  the  rear,  sent  orders 
for  them  to  attack  again. 

Never  did  the  English  fight  with  greater  bravery.  Six 
times  did  they  advance  to  the  attack,  but  the  task  set  them 
was  impossible.  At  five  in  the  afternoon  two  English  col- 
umns made  an  assault  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  French, 
and  although  Montcalm  hastened  to  the  spot  with  his  re- 
serves they  nearly  succeeded  in  breaking  through,  hewing 
their  way  right  to  the  very  foot  of  the  breastwork,  and  re- 
newing the  attack  over  and  over  again,  the  Highland  regi- 
ment, which  led  the  column,  fighting  with  desperate  valor, 
and  not  retiring  until  its  major  and  twenty-five  of  the  offi- 
cers were  killed  or  wounded  and  half  the  men  had  fallen 
under  the  deadly  fire. 

At  six  o'clock  another  desperate  attempt  was  made,  but 
in  vain;  then  the  regulars  fell  back  in  disorder,  but  for 
an  hour  and  a  half  the  provincials  and  rangers  kept  up  a 
fire  while  their  comrades  removed  the  wounded.  Aber- 
cromby had  lost  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  1,944  offi- 
cers and  men,  while  the  loss  of  the  French  was  377. 

Even  now  Abercromby  might  have  retrieved  his  repulse, 
for  with  13,000  men  still  remaining  against  3,300  un- 
wounded  Frenchmen  he  could  still  have  easily  forced  them 


296  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA. 

to  surrender  by  planting  cannons  on  the  heights  or  by  cut- 
ting off  their  communication  and  food.  He  did  neither,  but 
at  daybreak  re-embarked  his  army  and  retired  with  all 
speed  down  the  lake. 

Montcalm  soon  received  large  reinforcements  and  sent 
out  scouting  parties.  One  of  these  caught  a  party  com- 
manded by  Captain  Rogers  in  an  ambush,  but  were  finally 
driven  back  with  such  heavy  loss  that  from  that  time  few 
scouting  parties  were  sent  out  from  Ticonderoga.  In  Oc- 
tober, Montcalm  with  the  main  portion  of  his  army  retired 
for  the  winter  to  Montreal,  while  the  English  fell  back  to 
Albany. 

While  Abercromby  was  lying  inactive  at  the  head  of  Lake 
George,  Brigadier-General  Forbes  had  advanced  from  Vir- 
ginia against  Fort  Duquesne,  and  after  immense  labor  and 
hardships  succeeded  in  arriving  at  the  fort,  which  the 
French  evacuated  at  his  approach,  having  burnt  the  bar- 
racks and  store-houses  and  blown  up  the  fortifications.  A 
stockade  was  formed  and  a  fort  afterward  built  there;  this 
was  called  Fort  Pitt  and  the  place  itself  Pittsburg.  A 
small  garrison  was  left  there,  and  the  army,  after  having 
collected  and  buried  the  bones  of  Braddock's  men,  retired 
to  Virginia. 

The  general,  who,  though  suffering  terribly  from  disease, 
had  steadfastly  carried  out  the  enterprise  in  the  face  of 
enormous  difficulties,  died  shortly  after  the  force  returned 
to  the  settlements.  Another  successful  enterprise  during 
the  autumn  had  been  the  capture  of  Fort  Frontenac,  and 
the  gaining  of  a  foothold  by  the  English  on  Lake  Ontario. 
Thus  the  campaign  of  1758  was  on  the  whole  disastrous  to 
the  French;  they  had  held  their  own  triumphantly  at  Ti- 
conderoga, but  they  had  lost  their  great  fortress  of  Louis- 
bourg,  their  right  had  been  forced  back  by  the  capture  of 
Fort  Duquesne,  and  their  line  of  communication  cut  by 
the  destruction  of  Fort  Frontenac. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


QUEBEC. 


In  the  following  spring  the  French  prepared  to  resist 
the  serious  attack  which  they  expected  would  he  made  by 
way  of  Lake  Champlain  and  Ontario,  but  a  greater  danger 
was  threatening  them,  for  in  the  midst  of  their  prepara- 
tions the  news  arrived  from  France  that  a  great  fleet  was 
on  its  way  from  England  to  attack  Quebec.  The  town  was 
filled  with  consternation  and  surprise,  for  the  Canadians 
had  believed  that  the  navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was 
too  difficult  and  dangerous  for  any  hostile  fleet  to  attempt. 
Their  spirits  rose,  however,  when  a  few  days  later  a  fleet 
of  twenty-three  ships  ladened  with  supplies  from  France 
sailed  up  the  river. 

A  day  or  two  later  the  British  fleet  was  at  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  whole  forces  of  the  colony  except 
three  battalions  posted  at  Ticonderoga  and  a  strong  de- 
tachment placed  so  as  to  resist  any  hostile  movement  from 
Lake  Ontario,  were  mustered  at  Quebec.  Here  were  gath- 
ered five  French  battalions,  the  whole  of  the  Canadian 
troops  and  militia,  and  upward  of  a  thousand  Indians,  in 
all  amounting  to  more  than  sixteen  thousand. 

The  position  was  an  extremely  strong  one,  the  main  force 
was  encamped  on  the  high  ground  below  Quebec  with  their 
right  resting  on  the  St.  Charles  River,  and  the  left  on  the 
Montmorenci,  a  distance  of  between  seven  and  eight  miles. 


298  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

The  front  was  covered  by  steep  ground  which  rose  nearly 
from  the  edge  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  right  was  cov- 
ered by  the  guns  of  the  citadel  of  Quebec. 

A  boom  of  logs  chained  together  was  laid  across  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  Charles,  which  was  further  guarded  by 
two  hulks  mounted  with  cannon.  A  bridge  of  boats  crossing 
the  river  a  mile  higher  up  connected  the  city  with  the 
camp.  All  the  gates  of  Quebec  except  that  of  St.  Charles, 
which  faced  the  bridge,  were  closed  and  barricaded.  A 
hundred  and  six  cannon  were  mounted  on  the  walls,  while 
a  floating-battery  of  twelve  heavy  pieces,  a  number  of  gun- 
boats, and  eight  fire-ships  formed  the  river  defences. 

The  frigates  which  had  convoyed  the  merchant  fleet  were 
taken  higher  up  the  river,  and  a  thousand  of  their  seamen 
came  down  from  Quebec  to  man  the  batteries  and  gun- 
boats. Against  this  force  of  sixteen  thousand  men  posted 
behind  defensive  works,  on  a  position  almost  impregnable 
by  nature,  General  Wolfe  was  bringing  less  than  nine 
'  thousand  troops.  The  steep  and  lofty  heights  that  lined 
the  river  rendered  the  cannon  of  the  ships  useless  to  him, 
and  the  exigencies  of  the  fleet  in  such  narrow  and  difficult 
navigation  prevented  the  sailors  being  landed  to  assist  the 
troops. 

A  large  portion  of  Montcalm's  army  indeed  consisted  of 
Canadians,  who  were  of  little  use  in  the  open  field,  but 
could  be  trusted  to  fight  well  behind  intrenchments.  Wolfe 
was  unfortunately  in  extremely  bad  health  when  he  was 
selected  by  Pitt  to  command  the  expedition  against  Quebec, 
but  under  him  were  Brigadier-Generals  Monckton,  Town- 
shend,  and  Murray,  all  good  officers.  The  fleet  consisted  of 
twenty-two  ships  of  War  with  frigates  and  sloops,  and  a 
great  number  of  transports.  It  was  at  first  divided  into 
three  squadrons;  that  under  Admiral  Durell  sailed  direct 
for  the  St.  Lawrence  to  intercept  the  ships  from  France, 
but  arrived  at  its  destination  a  few  days  too  late.    That  of 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT. 


290 


Admiral  Holmes  sailed  for  New  York  to  take  on  board  a 
portion  of  the  army  of  Amherst  and  Abercromby;  that  of 
Admiral  Saunders  sailed  to  Louisbourg,  but  finding  the 


300  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

entrance  blocked  with  ice  went  on  to  Halifax,  where  it 
was  joined  by  the  squadron  with  the  troops  from  New 
York.  They  then  sailed  again  to  Louisbourg,  where  they 
remained  until  the  6th  of  June,  1759,  and  then  joined 
Durell  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

Wolfe's  force  had  been  intended  to  be  larger,  and  should 
have  amounted  to  fourteen  thousand  men;  but  some  regi- 
ments which  were  to  have  joined  him  from  the  West  Indies 
were,  at  the  last  moment,  countermanded,  and  Amherst, 
who  no  doubt  felt  some  jealousy  at  the  command  of  this 
important  expedition  being  given  to  an  officer  who  had 
served  under  his  orders  at  the  taking  of  Louisbourg,  sent 
a  smaller  contingent  of  troops  than  had  been  expected. 

Among  the  regiments  which  sailed  was  that  of  James 
Walsham.  After  the  fight  at  Ticonderoga,  in  which  up- 
ward of  half  of  his  force  had  fallen,  the  little  corps  had 
been  broken  up,  and  the  men  had  returned  to  duty  with 
their  regiments.  Owing  to  the  number  of  officers  who  had 
fallen,  James  now  stood  high  on  the  list  of  lieutenants. 
He  had  had  enough  of  scouting,  and  was  glad  to  return  to 
the  regiment,  his  principal  regret  being  that  he  had  to 
part  from  his  two  trusty  scouts. 

There  was  great  joy  in  the  regiment  when  the  news  was 
received  that  they  were  to  go  with  the  expedition  against 
Quebec.  They  had  formed  part  of  Wolfe's  division  at 
Louisbourg,  and  like  all  who  had  served  with  him,  regarded 
with  enthusiasm  and  confidence  the  leader  whose  frail  body 
seemed  wholly  incapable  of  sustaining  fatigue  or  hardship, 
but  whose  indomitable  spirit  and  courage  placed  him  ever 
in  the  front,  and  set  an  example  which  the  bravest  of  his 
followers  were  proud  to  imitate. 

From  time  to  time  James  had  received  letters  from  home. 
Communication  was  irregular;  but  his  mother  and  Mr. 
Wilks  wrote  frequently,  and  sometimes  he  received  half  a 
dozen  letters  at  once.    He  had  now  been  absent  from  home 


THE   WINNING   OF   A   CONTINENT.  301 

for  four  years,  and  his  mother  told  him  that  he  would 
scarcely  recognize  Aggie,  who  was  now  as  tall  as  herself. 
Mrs.  Walsham  said  that  the  girl  was  almost  as  interested 
as  she  was  in  his  letters,  and  in  the  dispatches  from  the 
war,  in  which  his  name  had  several  times  been  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  services  rendered  by  his  scouts. 

Richard  Horton  had  twice,  during  James's  absence,  re- 
turned home.  The  squire,  Mrs.  Walsham  said,  had  received 
him  very  coolly  in  consequence  of  the  letter  he  had  written 
when  James  was  pressed  as  a  seaman,  and  she  said  that 
Aggie  seemed  to  have  taken  a  great  objection  to  him.  She 
wondered  indeed  that  he  could  stay  an  hour  in  the  house 
after  his  reception  there;  but  he  seemed  as  if  he  didn't 
notice  it,  and  took  especial  pains  to  try  and  overcome 
Aggie's  feeling  against  him. 

While  waiting  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Admiral 
Durell  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  pilots  to  take  the  fleet 
up  the  river.  He  had  sailed  up  the  river  to  the  point 
where  the  difficult  navigation  began,  and  where  vessels 
generally  took  on  board  river  pilots.  Here  he  hoisted  the 
French  flag  at  the  mast-head,  and  the  pilots,  believing  the 
ships  to  be  a  French  squadron  which  had  eluded  the  watch 
of  the  English,  came  off  in  their  boats  and  were  all  taken 
prisoners,  and  forced  under  pain  of  death  to  take  the  Eng- 
lish vessels  safely  up.  The  first  difficulty  of  the  passage 
was  at  Cape  Tourmente,  where  the  channel  describes  a 
complete  zigzag. 

Had  the  French  planted  some  guns  on  a  plateau  high 
up  on  the  side  of  the  mountains  they  could  have  done 
great  damage  by  a  plunging  fire;  but  Vaudreuil  had  ne- 
glected to  take  this  measure,  and  the  fleet  passed  up  in 
safety,  the  manner  in  which  they  were  handled  and  navi- 
gated astonishing  the  Canadians,  who  had  believed  it  to  be 
impossible  that  large  ships  could  be  taken  up.  On  the  26th 
the  whole  fleet  were  anchored  off  the  Island  of  Orleans,  a 


302  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

few  miles  below  Quebec.  The  same  night  a  small  party 
landed  on  the  island.  They  were  opposed  by  the  armed 
inhabitants,  but  beat  them  off,  and  during  the  night  the 
Canadians  crossed  to  the  north  shore.  The  whole  army 
then  landed. 

From  the  end  of  the  island  Wolfe  could  see  the  full 
strength  of  the  position  which  he  had  come  to  attack. 
Three  or  four  miles  in  front  of  him  the  town  of  Quebec 
stood  upon  its  elevated  rock.  Beyond  rose  the  loftier 
height  of  Cape  Diamond  with  its  redoubts  and  parapets. 
Three  great  batteries  looked  threateningly  from  the  upper 
rock  of  Quebec,  while  three  others  were  placed  near  the 
edge  of  the  water  in  the  lower  town.  On  the  right  was  the 
great  camp  of  Montcalm,  stretching  f  ronl  the  St.  Charles  at 
the  foot  of  the  city  walls  to  the  gorge  of  the  Montmorenci. 

From  the  latter  point  to  the  village  of  Beauport  in  the 
centre  of  the  camp  the  front  was  covered  with  earthworks 
along  the  brink  of  a  lofty  height,  and  from  Beauport  to 
the  St.  Charles  were  broad  flats  of  mud  swept  by  the  fire 
of  redoubts  and  intrenchments,  by  the  guns  of  a  floating- 
battery,  and  by  those  of  the  city  itself.  Wolfe  could  not 
see  beyond  Quebec,  but  above  the  city  the  position  was 
even  stronger  than  below.  The  river  was  walled  by  a  range 
of  steeps  often  inaccessible,  and  always  so  difficult  that  a 
few  men  could  hold  an  army  in  check. 

Montcalm  was  perfectly  confident  of  his  ability  to  resist 
any  attack  which  the  British  might  make.  Bougainville 
had  long  before  examined  the  position  in  view  of  the  possi- 
bility of  an  English  expedition  against  it,  and  reported 
that  witn  a  few  intrenchments  the  city  would  be  safe  if 
defended  by  three  or  four  thousand  men.  Sixteen  thousand 
were  now  gathered  there,  and  Montcalm  might  well  believe 
the  position  to  be  impregnable. 

He  was  determined  to  run  no  risk  by  advancing  to  give 
battle,  but  to  remain  upon  the  defensive  till  the  resources 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  303 

of  the  English  were  exhausted,  or  till  the  approach  of  win- 
ter forced  them  to  retire.  His  only  source  of  uneasiness 
lay  in  the  south,  for  he  feared  that  Amherst  with  his  army 
might  capture  Ticonderoga  and  advance  into  the  colony, 
in  which  case  he  must  weaken  his  army  by  sending  a  force 
to  oppose  him. 

On  the  day  after  the  array  landed  on  the  island  a  sudden 
and  very  violent  squall  drove  several  of  the  ships  ashore 
and  destroyed  many  of  the  flat-boats.  On  the  following 
night  the  sentries  at  the  end  of  the  island  saw  some  vessels 
coming  down  the  river.  Suddenly  these  burst  into  flames. 
They  were  the  fire-ships  which  Vaudreuil  had  sent  down 
to  destroy  the  fleet.  They  were  filled  with  pitch,  tar,  and 
all  sorts  of  combustibles,  with  shell  and  grenades  mixed  up 
with  them,  while  on  their  decks  were  a  number  of  cannon 
crammed  to  the  mouth  with  grape-shot  and  musket-balls. 

Fortunately  for  the  English  the  French  naval  officer  in 
command  lost  his  nerve,  and  set  fire  to  his  ship  half  an 
hour  too  soon,  the  other  captains  following  his  example. 
This  gave  the  English  time  to  recover  from  the  first  feel- 
ing of  consternation  at  seeing  the  fire-ships,  each  a  pillar 
of  flame,  advancing  with  tremendous  explosion  and  noise 
against  them.  The  troops  at  once  got  under  arms  lest  the 
French  should  attack  them,  while  the  vessels  lowered  their 
boats,  and  the  sailors  rowed  up  to  meet  the  fire-ships.  When 
they  neared  them  they  threw  grapnels  on  board,  and  towed 
them  toward  land  until  they  were  stranded,  and  then  left 
them  to  burn  out  undisturbed. 

Finding  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  effect  a  landing 
under  the  fire  of  the  French  guns,  Wolfe  determined  as  a 
first  step  to  seize  the  height  of  Point  Levi  opposite  Quebec. 
From  this  point  he  could  fire  on  the  town  across  the  St. 
Lawrence,  which  is. here  less  than  a  mile  wide.  On  the 
afternoon  of  the  29th  Monckton's  brigade  crossed  in  the 
boats  to  Beaumont  on  the  south  shore.     His   advanced 


304  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:    OR, 

guard  had  a  skirmish  with  a  party  of  Canadians,  but  these 
soon  fell  back,  and  no  further  opposition  was  offered  to 
the  landing. 

In  the  morning  a  proclamation  issued  by  "Wolfe  was 
posted  on  the  doors  of  the  parish  churches.  It  called  upon 
the  Canadians  to  stand  neutral  in  the  contest,  promising 
them,  if  they  did  so,  full  protection  to  their  property  and 
( religion ;  but  threatening  that  if  they  resisted,  their  houses, 
goods,  and  harvest  should  be  destroyed,  and  their  churches 
sacked. 

The  brigade  marched  along  the  river  to  Point  Levi  and 
drove  off  a  body  of  French  and  Indians  posted  there,  and 
the  next  morning  began  to  throw  up  intrenchments  and  to 
form  batteries.  Wolfe  did  not  expect  that  his  guns  here 
could  do  any  serious  damage  to  the  fortifications  of  Quebec. 
His  object  was  partly  to  discourage  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city  exposed  to  his  fire,  partly  to  keep  up  the  spirits  of  his 
own  troops  by  setting  them  to  work. 

The  guns  of  Quebec  kept  up  a  continual  fire  against  the 
working  parties,  but  the  batteries  continued  to  rise,  and 
the  citizens,  alarmed  at  the  destruction  which  threatened 
their  houses,  asked  the  governor  to  allow  them  to  cross  the 
river  and  dislodge  the  English.  Although  he  had  no  be- 
lief that  they  would  succeed  he  thought  it  better  to  allow 
them  to  try.  Accordingly  some  fifteen  hundred  armed 
citizens  and  Canadians  from  the  camp,  with  a  few  Indians, 
and  a  hundred  volunteers  from  the  regulars,  marched  up 
the  river  and  crossed  on  the  night  of  the  12th  of  July. 

The  courage  of  the  citizens  evaporated  very  quickly  now 
they  were  on  the  same  side  of  the  river  as  the  English, 
although  still  three  miles  from  them.  In  a  short  time  a 
wild  panic  seized  them.  They  rushed  back  in  extreme 
disorder  to  their  boats,  crossed  the  river,  and  returned  to 
Quebec.  The  English  guns  soon  opened  and  carried  de- 
struction into  the  city.     In  one  day  eighteen  houses  and 


THE   WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  305 

the  cathedral  were  burned  by  exploding  shells,  and  the 
citizens  soon  abandoned  their  homes  and  fled  into  the 
country. 

The  destruction  of  the  city,  however,  even  if  complete, 
would  have  advanced  Wolfe's  plans  but  little.  It  was  a 
moral  blow  at  the  enemy,  but  nothing  more.  On  the  8th 
of  July  several  frigates  took  their  station  before  the  camp 
of  General  Levis,  who,  with  his  division  of  Canadian  militia, 
occupied  the  heights  along  the  St.  Lawrence  next  to  the 
gorge  of  Montmorenci.  Here  they  opened  fire  with  shell 
and  continued  it  till  nightfall.  Owing  to  the  height  of 
the  plateau  on  which  the  camp  was  situated  they  did  but 
little  damage,  but  the  intention  of  Wolfe  was  simply  to 
keep  the  enemy  occupied  and  under  arms. 

Toward  evening  the  troops  on  the  island  broke  tip  their 
camp,  and,  leaving  a  detachment  of  marines  to  hold  the 
post,  the  brigades  of  Townshend  and  Murray,  three  thou- 
sand strong,  embarked  after  nightfall  in  the  boats  of  the 
fleet,  and  landed  a  little  below  the  Montmorenci.  At  day- 
break they  climbed  the  heights,  and,  routing  a  body  of 
Canadians  and  Indians  who  opposed  them,  gained  the 
plateau  and  began  to  intrench  themselves  there. 

A  company  of  rangers  supported  by  the  regulars  was 
sent  into  the  neighboring  forests  to  prevent  the  parties 
from  cutting  bushes  for  the  fascines,  to  explore  the  bank 
of  the  Montmorenci,  and  if  possible  to  discover  a  ford 
across  the  river.  Levis  with  his  aide-de-camp,  a  Jacobite 
Scotchman  named  Johnston,  was  watching  the  movements 
of  Wolfe  from  the  heights  above  the  gorge.  Levis  believed 
that  no  ford  existed,  but  Johnston  found  a  man  who  had 
only  that  morning  crossed. 

A  detachment  was  at  once  sent  to  the  place  with  orders 

to  intrench  themselves,  and  Levis  posted  eleven  hundred 

Canadians  under  Eepentigny  close  by  in  support.     Four 

hundred  Indians  passed  the  ford  and  discovered  the  Eng- 

20 


306  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

lish  detachment  in  the  forest,  and  Langlade,  their  com- 
mander, recrossed  the  river  and  told  Eepentigny  that  there 
was  a  body  of  English  in  the  forest  who  might  be  destroyed 
if  he  would  cross  at  once  with  his  Canadians.  Eepentigny 
sent  to  Levis,  and  Levis  to  Yaudreuil,  then  three  or  four 
miles  distant. 

Before  Vaudreuil  arrived  on  the  spot  the  Indians  became 
'impatient  and  attacked  the  rangers,  and  drove  them  back 
with  loss  upon  the  regulars,  who  stood  their  ground  and 
repulsed  the  assailants;  the  Indians,  however,  carried 
thirty-six  scalps  across  the  ford.  If  Eepentigny  had  ad- 
vanced when  first  called  upon,  and  had  been  followed  by 
Levis  with  his  whole  command,  the  English  might  have 
suffered  a  very  severe  check,  for  the  Canadians  were  as 
much  superior  to  the  regulars  in  the  forest,  as  the  regulars 
to  the  Canadians  in  the  open. 

Vaudreuil  called  a  council  of  war,  but  he  and  Montcalm 
agreed  not  to  attack  the  English,  who  were,  on  their  part, 
powerless  to  injure  them.  Wolfe's  position  on  the  heights 
was  indeed  a  dangerous  one.  A  third  of  his  force  was  six 
miles  away,  on  the  other  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the 
detachment  on  the  island  was  separated  from  each  by  a 
wide  arm  of  the  river.  Any  of  the  three  were  liable  to  be 
attacked  and  overpowered  before  the  others  could  come  to 
its  assistance. 

Wolfe,  indeed,  was  soon  well  intrenched,  but  although 
safe  against  attack  he  was  powerless  to  take  the  offensive. 
The  fact,  however,  that  he  had  taken  up  his  position  so 
near  their  camp  had  discomfited  the  Canadians,  and  his 
battery  played  with  considerable  effect  on  the  left  of  their 
camp.  The  time  passed  slowly.  The  deep  and  impassable 
gulf  of  the  Montmorenci  separated  the  two  enemies,  but 
the  crests  of  the  opposite  cliffs  were  within  easy  gunshot 
of  each  other,  and  men  who  showed  themselves  near  the 
edge  ran  a  strong  chance  of  beinir  hit. 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  307 

Along  the  river  from  the  Montmorenci  to  Point  Levi 
continued  righting  went  on  between  the  guns  of  the  frigates 
and  the  gun-boats  and  batteries  on  shore.  The  Indians 
swarmed  in  the  forest  near  the  English  camp  and  constant- 
skirmishing  went  on  between  them  and  the  rangers.  The 
steady  work  of  destruction  going  on  in  the  city  of  Quebec 
by  the  fire  from  Point  Levi  and  the  ceaseless  cannonade 
kept  up  by  the  ships  and  Wolfe's  batteries,  added  to  the 
inactivity  to  which  they  were  condemned,  began  to  dispirit 
the  Canadian  militia,  and  many  desertions  took  place,  the 
men  being  anxious  to  return  to  their  villages  and,  look  after 
the  crops;  and  many  more  would  have  deserted  had  it  not 
been  for  the  persuasion  of  the  priests  and  the  fear  of  being 
maltreated  by  the  Indians,  whom  the  governor  threatened 
to  let  loose  upon  any  who  should  waver  in  their  resistance. 

On  the  18th  of  July  a  fresh  move  was  made  by  the  Eng- 
lish. The  French  had  believed  it  impossible  for  any  hos- 
tile ships  to  pass  the  batteries  of  Quebec;  but,  covered  by  a 
furious  cannonade  from  Point  Levi,  the  man-of-war  $utlier< 
land,  with  a  frigate  and  several  small  vessels,  aided  by  a 
favoring  wind,  ran  up  the  river  at  night  and  passed  above 
the  town.  Montcalm  at  once  dispatched  six  hundred  men 
under  Dumas  to  defend  the  accessible  points  in  the  line  of 
precipices  above  Quebec,  and  on  the  following  day,  when 
it  became  known  that  the  English  had  dragged  a  fleet  of 
boats  over  Point  Levi,  and  had  launched  them  above  the 
town,  a  reinforcement  of  several  hundreds  more  was  sent 
to  Dumas. 

On  the  night  of  the  20th  Colonel  Carleton  with  six  hun- 
dred men  rowed  eighteen  miles  up  the  river  and  landed  at 
Pointe-aux-Trembles  on  the  north  shore.  Here  many  of 
the  fugitives  from  Quebec  had  taken  refuge,  and  a  hundred 
women,  children,  and  old  men  were  taken  prisoners  by 
Carleton  and  brought  down  the  next  day  with  the  retiring 
force.     Wolfe  entertained  the  prisoners  kindly,  and  sent 


308  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

them  on  the  following  day  with  a  flag  of  truce  into  Quebec. 
On  the  night  of  the  28th  the  French  made  another  at- 
tempt to  burn  the  English  fleet,  sending  down  a  large 
number  of  schooners,  shallops,  and  rafts  chained  together 
and  filled  as  before  with  combustibles. 

This  time  the  fire  was  not  applied  too  soon,  and  the 
English  fleet  was  for  some  time  in  great  danger,  but  was 
again  saved  by  the  sailors,  who,  in  spite  of  the  storm  of 
missiles  vomited  out  by  cannon,  swivels,  grenades,  shell, 
and  gun  and  pistol  barrels  loaded  up  to  the  muzzle,  grap- 
pled with  the  burning  mass  and  towed  it  on  shore. 

It  was  now  the  end  of  July,  and  Wolfe  was  no  nearer 
taking  Quebec  than  upon  the  day  when  he  first  landed 
there.  In  vain  he  had  tempted  Montcalm  to  attack  him. 
The  French  general,  confident  in  the  strength  of  his  posi- 
tion, refused  to  leave  it.  Wolfe  therefore  determined  to 
attack  the  camp  in  front.  The  plan  was  a  desperate  one, 
for  after  leaving  troops  enough  to  hold  his  two  camps  he 
had  less  than  five  thousand  men  to  attack  a  position  of 
commanding  strength,  where  Montcalm  could  at  an  hour's 
notice  collect  twice  as  many  to  oppose  him. 

At  a  spot  about  a  mile  above  the  gorge  of  the  Mont- 
morenci  a  flat  strip  of  ground  some  two  hundred  yards 
wide  lay  between  the  river  and  the  foot  of  the  precipices, 
and  at  low  tide  the  river  left  a  flat  of  mud  nearly  half  a 
mile  wide  beyond  the  dry  ground.  Along  the  edge  of  the 
high-water  mark  the  French  had  built  several  redoubts. 
From  the  river  Wolfe  could  not  see  that  these  redoubts 
were  commanded  by  the  musketry  of  the  intrenchments 
along  the  edge  of  the  heights  above,  which  also  swept  with 
their  fire  the  whole  face  of  the  declivity,  which  was  covered 
with  grass  and  was  extremely  steep.  Wolfe  hoped  that  if 
he  attacked  one  of  the  redoubts  the  French  would  come 
down  to  defend  it,  and  that  a  battle  might  be  so  brought 
on;  or  that  if   they  did  not  do  so  he  might  find  a  spot 


THE   WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  309 

where  the  heights  could  be  stormed  with  some  chance  of 
success. 

At  low  tide  it  was  possible  to  ford  the  mouth  of  the 
Montmorenci,  and  Wolfe  intended  that  the  troops  from 
his  camp  on  the  heights  above  that  river  should  cross  here, 
and  advance  along  the  strand  to  co-operate  with  Monck- 
ton's  brigade,  who  were  to  cross  from  Point  Levi. 

On  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  July  the  Centurion  of  64 
guns,  and  two  armed  transports  each  with  14  guns,  stood 
close  in  to  one  of  the  redoubts  and  opened  fire  upon  it, 
while  the  English  batteries  from  the  heights  of  the  Mont- 
morenci  opened  fire  across  the  chasm  upon  the  French 
lines. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  troops  from  Point  Levi  put  off  in 
their  boats,  and  moved  across  the  river  as  if  they  intended 
to  make  a  landing  between  Beauport  and  the  city.  For 
some  hours  Montcalm  remained  ignorant  as  to  the  point 
on  which  the  English  attack  was  to  be  made,  but  became 
presently  convinced  that  it  would  be  delivered  near  the 
Montmorenci,  and  he  massed  the  whole  of  his  army  on 
that  flank  of  his  position.  At  half-past  five  o'clock  the 
tide  was  low,  and  the  English  boats  dashed  forward  and 
the  troops  sprang  ashore  on  to  the  broad  tract  of  mud  left 
bare  by  the  tide,  while  at  the  same  moment  a  column  2,000 
strong  moved  down  from  the  height  toward  the  ford  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Montmorenci. 

The  first  to  land  were  thirteen  companies  of  Grenadiers 
and  a  detachment  of  Royal  Americans,  who,  without  wait- 
ing for  the  two  regiments  of  Monckton's  brigade,  dashed 
forward  against  the  redoubt  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  The 
French  at  once  abandoned  it,  but  the  Grenadiers  had  no 
sooner  poured  into  it  than  a  storm  of  bullets  rained  down 
upon  them  from  the  troops  who  lined  the  heights  above. 

Without  a  moment's  hesitation  the  Grenadiers  and  Ameri- 
cans dashed  forward  and  strove  to  climb  the  steep  ascent, 


310  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

swept  as  it  was  by  a  terrific  hail  of  bullets  and  buck-shot 
from  the  French  and  Canadians.  Numbers  rolled  dead  or 
wounded  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  but  the  others  strug- 
gled on. 

But  at  this  moment  the  cloud  which  had  been  threaten- 
ing all  day  suddenly  opened  and  the  rain  poured  down  in 
a  torrent,  the  grassy  slopes  instantly  became  so  slippery 
that  it  was  absolutely  impossible  to  climb  them,  and  the 
fire  from  above  died  away  as  the  wet  rendered  the  firelocks 
unserviceable. 

The  Grenadiers  fell  back  into  the  redoubt.  Wolfe,  who 
now  arrived  upon  the  spot,  saw  that  it  was  absolutely  im- 
possible to  carry  the  heights  under  the  present  conditions, 
and  ordered  the  troop3  to  retreat.  Carrying  off  many  of 
the  wounded  with  them  they  fell  back  in  good  order.  Those 
of  the  Grenadiers  and  Americans  who  survived  recrossed 
in  their  boats  to  the  island,  the  15th  Eegiment  rowed  back 
to  Point  Levi,  and  the  78th  Highlanders,  who  belonged  to 
Monckton's  brigade,  joined  the  column  from  below  the 
Montmorenci  and  slowly  retired  along  the  fiats  and  across 
the  ford. 

The  loss  fell  entirely  upon  the  Grenadiers  and  Ameri- 
cans, and  was,  in  proportion  to  their  number,  enormous — 
four  hundred  and  forty-three,  including  one  colonel,  eight 
captains,  twenty-one  lieutenants,  and  three  ensigns,  being 
killed,  wounded,  or  missing.  The  blow  to  the  English  was 
a  severe  one,  and  even  Wolfe  began  to  despair,  and  medi- 
tated leaving  a  portion  of  his  troops  on  Isle-aux-Coudres 
and  fortifying  them  there,  and  sailing  home  with  the  rest 
to  prepare  another  expedition  in  the  following  year. 

In  the  middle  of  August  he  issued  a  third  proclamation 
to  the  Canadians,  declaring,  as  they  had  refused  his  offers 
of  protection,  and  had  practised  the  most  unchristian  bar- 
barity against  his  troops  on  all  occasions,  he  could  no 
longer  refrain,  in  justice  to  himself  and  his  army,  in  chas- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  311 

tising  them  as  they  deserved.  The  barbarities  consisted  in 
the  frequent  scalping  and  mutilating  of  sentinels  and  men 
on  outpost  duty,  which  were  perpetrated  alike  by  the  Cana- 
dians and  Indians.  Wolfe's  object  was  twofold:  first,  to 
cause  the  militia  to  desert,  and  secondly  to  exhaust  the 
culony. 

Accordingly  the  rangers,  light  infantry,  and  Highlanders 
were  sent  out  in  all  directions  to  waste  the  settlements 
wherever  resistance  was  offered.  Farm-houses  and  villages 
were  laid  in  ashes,  although  the  churches  were  generally 
spared.  Wolfe's  orders  were  strict  that  women  and  chil- 
dren were  to  be  treated  with  honor.  "If  any  violence  is 
offered  to  a  woman  the  offender  shall  be.  punished  with 
death."  These  orders  were  obeyed,  and  except  in  one  in- 
stance none  but  armed  men  in  the  act  of  resistance  were 
killed. 

Vaudreuil  in  his  dispatches  home  loudly  denounced  these 
barbarities;  but  he  himself  was  answerable  for  atrocities 
incomparably  worse  and  on  a  far  larger  scale,  for  he  had 
for  years  sent  his  savages,  red  and  white,  along  a  frontier 
of  600  miles  to  waste,  burn,  and  murder  at  will,  and  these, 
as  he  was  perfectly  aware,  spared  neither  age  nor  sex. 
Montcalm  was  not  to  be  moved  from  his  position  by  the 
sight  of  the  smoke  of  the  burning  villages.  He  would  not 
risk  the  loss  of  all  Canada  for  the  sake  of  a  few  hundred 
farm-houses. 

Seeing  the  impossibility  of  a  successful  attack  below  the 
town,  Wolfe  determined  to  attempt  operations  on  a  large 
scale  above  it.  Accordingly  with  every  fair  wind  and  tide 
ships  and  transports  ran  the  gauntlet  of  the  batteries  of 
Quebec,  and  covered  by  a  hot  fire  from  Point  Levi  gener% 
ally  succeeded  with  more  or  less  damage  in  getting  above 
the  town.  A  fleet  of  flat-boats  was  also  sent  up,  and  1,200 
troops  marched  overland  under  Brigadier  Murray  to  em- 
bark in  them. 


312  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

To  meet  this  danger  above  the  town  Bougainville  was 
sent  from  the  camp  at  Beauport  with  1,500  men.  Murray 
made  another  descent  at  Pointe-aux-Trembles,  but  was  re- 
pulsed with  loss.  He  tried  a  second  time  at  another  place, 
but  a  body  of  ambushed  Canadians  poured  so  heavy  a  fire 
into  the  boats  that  he  was  forced  to  fall  back  again  with 
considerable  loss. 

His  third  attempt  was  more  successful,  for  he  landed  at 
Deschambault  and  burned  a  large  building  filled  with 
stores,  and  with  all  the  spare  baggage  of  the  officers  of  the 
French  regular  troops.  Vaudreuil  now  regretted  having 
sent  the  French  frigates  up  the  river  and  withdrawing 
their  crews  to  work  in  the  batteries.  Had  they  been  kept 
just  above  the  town  they  could  have  overpowered  the  Eng- 
lish vessels  as  they  passed  up. 

The  sailors  were  now  sent  up  to  man  their  ships  again; 
but  Admiral  Holmes,  who  had  taken  command  of  the  ships 
of  war  above  Quebec,  was  already  too  strong  for  them,  and 
the  sailors  were  recalled  to  Quebec.  Both  armies  were 
suffering.  Dysentery  and  fever  had  broken  out  in  the 
English  camp,  and  the  number  of  effective  men  was  greatly 
reduced.  Upon  the  other  hand  the  French  were  suffering 
from  shortness  of  supplies.  The  English  frigates  above 
the  town  prevented  food  being  brought  clown  from  Mon- 
treal in  boats,  and  difficulties  of  land  carriage  were  very 
great. 

The  Canadians  deserted  in  great  numbers,  and  Mont- 
calm's force  had  been  weakened  by  the  dispatch  of  Levis 
to  assist  in  checking  the  advance  of  Amherst.  The  latter 
had  captured  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  Niagara  had 
also  been  taken  by  the  English.  Amherst,  however,  fell 
back  again,  and  Levis  was  able  to  rejoin  Montcalm.  But 
the  greatest  misfortune  which  befell  the  English  was  the 
dangerous  illness  of  Wolfe,  who,  always  suffering  from  dis- 
ease, was  for  a  time  utterly  prostrate. 


THE   WINNING   OF   A   CONTINENT.  31 S 

At  the  end  of  August,  however,  he  partially  recovered 
and  dictated  a  letter  to  his  three  hrigadier-generals,  asking 
them  to  fix  upon  one  of  three  plans  which  he  laid  before 
them  for  attacking  the  enemy.  The  first  was  that  the  army 
should  march  eight  or  ten  miles  up  the  Montmorenci,  ford 
the  river,  and  fall  upon  the  rear  of  the  enemy.  The  second 
was  to  cross  the  ford  at  the  mouth  of  the  Montmorenci 
and  march  along  the  shore  until  a  spot  was  found  where 
the  heights  could  be  climbed.  The  third  was  to  make  a 
general  attack  from  the  boats  upon  Beauport. 

Monckton,  Townshend,  and  Murray  met  in  consultation, 
and  considered  all  the  plans  to  be  hopeless;  but  they  pro- 
posed that  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  land  above  the 
town,  and  so  to  place  the  army  between  Quebec  and  its 
base  of  supplies,  thereby  forcing  Montcalm  to  fight  or  to 
surrender.  The  attempt  seemed  a  desperate  one,  but  Wolfe 
determined  to  adopt  it.  He  had  not  much  hope  of  its  suc- 
ceeding, but  should  it  not  do  so  there  was  nothing  for  him 
but  to  sail  with  his  weakened  army  back  to  England. 

He  therefore  determined  at  last  to  make  the  attempt, 
and  implored  his  physician  to  patch  him  up,  so  that  he 
could  in  person  take  the  command. 

"  I  know  perfectly  well  that  you  cannot  cure  me,"  he 
wrote;  "but  pray  make  me  up  so  that  I  may  be  without 
pain  for  a  few  days  and  able  to  do  m~  duty.  That  is  all  I 
want." 

On  the  3d  of  September  Wolfe  took  the  first  steps  toward 
the  carrying  out  of  his  plans  by  evacuating  the  camp  at 
Montmorenci.  Montcalm  sent  a  strong  force  to  attack 
him  as  he  was  moving;  but  Monckton  at  Point  Levi  saw 
the  movement,  and  embarking  two  battalions  in  boats  made 
a  feint  of  landing  at  Beauport.  Montcalm  recalled  his 
troops  to  repulse  the  threatened  attack,  and  the  English 
were  able  to  draw  off  from  Montmorenci  without  molesta- 
tion. 


314  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

On  the  night  of  the  4th  a  fleet  of  flat-boats  passed  above 
the  town  with  the  baggage  and  stores.  On  the  5th  the  in- 
fantry marched  up  by  land,  and  the  united  force  of  some 
3,600  men  embarked  on  board  the  ships  of  Admiral  Holmes. 
The  French  thought  that  the  abandonment  of  Montmorenci 
and  the  embarkation  of  the  troops  was  a  sign  that  the 
English  were  about  to  abandon  their  enterprise  and  sail 
for  England.  Nevertheless,  Montcalm  did  not  relax  his 
vigilance,  being  ever  on  the  watch,  riding  from  post  to 
post,  to  see  that  all  was  in  readiness  to  repel  an  attack. 

In  one  of  his  letters  at  this  time  he  mentioned  that  he 
had  not  taken  off  his  clothes  since  the  23d  of  June. 

He  now  reinforced  the  troops  under  Bougainville  above 
Quebec  to  3,000  men.  He  had  little  fear  for  the  heights 
near  the  town,  believing  them  to  be  inaccessible,  and  that 
a  hundred  men  could  stop  a  whole  army.  This  he  said 
especially  in  reference  to  the  one  spot  which  presented  at 
least  a  possibility  of  being  scaled.  Here  Captain  de  Vergor, 
with  a  hundred  Canadian  troops,  were  posted. 

The  battalion  of  Guienne  had  been  ordered  to  encamp 
close  at  hand,  and  the  post  which  was  called  Anse-du- 
Eoulon  was  but  a  mile  and  a  half  distant  from  Quebec. 
Thus,  although  hoping  that  the  English  would  soon  de- 
part, the  French,  knowing  the  character  of  Wolfe,  made 
every  preparation  against  a  last  attack  before  he  started. 

From  the  7th  to  the  12th  Holmes'  fleet  sailed  up  and 
down  the  river,  threatening  a  landing  now  at  one  point  and 
now  at  another,  wearing  out  the  French,  who  were  kept 
night  and  day  on  the  qui  vive,  and  were  exhausted  by  fol- 
lowing the  ships  up  and  down  so  as  to  be  ready  to  oppose  a 
landing  wherever  it  might  be  made. 

James  Walsham's  regiment  formed  part  of  Monckton's 
brigade,  and  his  colonel  had  frequently  selected  him  to 
command  parties  who  went  out  to  the  Canadian  villages, 
as  from  the  knowledge  he  had  acquired  of  irregular  war- 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  315 

fare,  he  could  be  trusted  not  to  suffer  himself  to  be  sur- 
prised by  the  parties  of  Canadians  or  Indians,  who  were 
always  on  the  watch  to  cut  off  detachments  sent  out  from 
the  British  camp.  There  were  still  ten  men  in  the  regi- 
ment who  had  formed  part  of  his  band  on  the  lakes;  these 
were  drafted  into  his  company,  and  whatever  force  went 
out  they  always  accompanied  him. 

Although  James  had  seen  much  and  heard  more  of  the 
terrible  barbarities  perpetrated  by  the  Canadians  and  their 
Indian  allies  on  the  frontier,  he  lamented  much  the  neces- 
sity which  compelled  Wolfe  to  order  the  destruction  of 
Canadian  villages;  and  when  engaged  on  this  service, 
whether  in  command  of  the  detachment,  or  as  a  subaltern 
if  more  than  one  company  went  out,  he  himself  never  super- 
intended the  painful  work;  but  with  his  ten  men  scouted 
beyond  the  village  and  kept  a  vigilant  look-out  against 
surprise. 

In  this  way  he  had  several  skirmishes  with  the  Canadians, 
but  the  latter  never  succeeded  in  surprising  any  force  to 
which  he  was  attached.  Walsham  and  his  scouts  were  often 
sent  out  with  parties  from  other  regiments,  and  General 
Monckton  was  so  pleased  with  his  vigilance  and  activity 
that  he  specially  mentioned  him  to  General  Wolfe,  at  the 
same  time  telling  him  of  the  services  he  had  performed  on 
the  lakes  and  the  very  favorable  reports  which  had  been 
made  by  Johnson,  Monro,  Lord  Howe,  and  Abercromby  of 
the  work  done  by  the  corps  which  he  had  organized  and 
commanded. 

"  I  wish  we  had  a  few  more  officers  trained  to  this  sort  of 
warfare,"  General  AYolfe  said.  "  Send  him  on  board  the 
Sutherland  to-morrow.  I  have  some  service  which  he  is 
well  fitted  to  carry  out." 

James  accordingly  repaired  on  board  the  Sutherland  and 
was  conducted  to  the  general's  cabin.  "  General  Monckton 
has  spoken  to  me  in  high  terms  of  you,  Lieutenant  Wal- 


316  WITH   WOLtfE  IN  CANADA :   OK, 

sham,  and  he  tells  me  that  yoit  have  been  several  times  men- 
tioned in  dispatches  by  the  generals  under  whom  you 
served,  and  you  were  with  Braddock  as  well  as  with  John- 
son, Howe,  and  Abercromby,  and  with  Monro  at  the  siege 
of  Fort  William  Henry.  How  is  it  that  so  young  an  officer 
should  have  seen  so  much  service  ?  " 

James  informed  him  how,  having  been  pressed  on  board 
a  man-of-war,  he  had  been  discharged,  in  accordance  with 
orders  from  home,  and  hearing  that  his  friends  were  going 
to  obtain  a  commission  for  him  in  a  regiment  under  orders 
for  America  he  had  thought  it  best  to  utilize  his  time  by 
accompanying  General  Braddock  as  a  volunteer,  in  order 
to  learn  something  of  forest  warfare;  that,  after  that  dis- 
astrous affair,  he  had  served  with  Johnson  in  a  similar 
capacity,  until  on  his  regiment  arriving  he  had  been  se- 
lected to  drill  a  company  of  scouts,  and  had  served  with 
them  on  the  lakes  until  the  corps  was  broken  up  when  the 
regiment  sailed  for  Canada. 

"  In  fact  you  have  seen  more  of  this  kind  of  warfare  than 
any  officer  in  the  army,"  General  Wolfe  said.  "Your  spe- 
cial services  ought  to  have  been  recognized  before.  I  shall 
have  you  put  in  orders  to-morrow  as  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  captain.  And  now  I  am  about  to  employ  you  upon  a 
service  which,  if  you  are  successful,  will  give  you  your 
brevet  majority.  There  must  be  some  points  at  which 
those  precipices  can  be  climbed ;  I  want  you  to  find  out 
where  they  are.  It  is  a  service  of  great  danger.  You  will 
go  in  uniform,  otherwise  if  caught  you  would  meet  with 
the  fate  of  a  spy;  but  at  the  same  time,  even  in  uniform 
you  would  probably  meet  with  but  little  mercy  if  you  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Canadians  or  Indians.  Would  you 
be  willing  to  undertake  such  a  duty  ?  " 

"  I  will  try,  sir,"  James  said.  "  Do  you  wish  me  to  start 
to-night  ?  " 

"No,"  the  general  replied;  "you  had  better  think  the 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  31? 

matter  over,  and  let  me  know  to-morrow  how  you  had  best 
proceed.  It  is  not  an  enterprise  to  be  undertaken  without 
thinking  it  over  in  every  light.  You  will  have  to  decide 
whether  you  will  go  alone  or  take  any  one  with  you,  when 
and  how  you  will  land,  how  you  will  regain  the  ships.  You 
will,  of  course,  have  carte  blanche  in  all  respects." 

After  James  had  returned  on  shore  he  thought  the  mat- 
ter over  in  every  light.  He  knew  that  the  French  had  many 
sentries  along  the  edge  of  the  river,  for  boats  which  at 
night  went  over  toward  that  side  of  the  river  were  always 
challenged  and  fired  upon.  The  chance  of  landing  unde- 
tected, therefore,  seemed  but  slight;  nor,  even  did  he  land, 
would  he  be  likely  at  night  to  discover  the  paths,  which 
could  be  little  more  than  tracks  up  the  heights. 

Had  he  been  able  to  speak  Canadian  French  the  matter 
would  have  been  easy  enough,  as  he  could  have  landed 
higher  up  the  river  and,  dressed  as  a  Canadian  farmer,  have 
made  his  way  through  the  French  lines  without  suspicion. 
But  he  knew  nothing  of  French,  and  even  had  he  spoken 
the  language  fluently  there  was  sufficient  difference  between 
the  Canadian  'French  and  the  language  of  the  old  country 
for  the  first  Canadian  who  spoke  to  him  to  have  detected 
the  difference.  Nor  could  he  pass  as  an  Indian;  for  al- 
though he  had  picked  up  enough  of  the  language  to  con- 
verse with  the  redskin  allies  of  the  English  on  the  lakes, 
the  first  Indian  who  spoke  to  him  would  detect  the  differ- 
ence; and,  indeed,  it  needed  a  far  more  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  the  various  tribes  than  he  possessed  for  him  to 
be  able  to  paint  and  adorn  himself  so  as  to  deceive  the 
vigilant  eyes  of  the  French  Indians. 

Had  his  two  followers,  Nat  and  Jonathan,  been  with  him 
they  could  have  painted  and  dressed  him  so  that  he  could 
have  passed  muster,  but  in  their  absence  he  abandoned 
the  idea  as  out  of  the  question.  The  prospect  certainly 
did  not  seem  hopeful. 


318  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

After  long  thought  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  only  way 
which  promised  even  a  chance  of  success  would  be  for  him 
to  be  taken  prisoner  by  the  French  soldiers.  Once  fairly 
within  their  lines  half  the  difficulty  was  over;  he  had 
learned  to  crawl  as  noiselessly  as  an  Indian,  and  he  doubted 
not  that  he  should  be  able  to  succeed  in  getting  away  from 
any  place  of  confinement  in  which  they  might  place  him. 
Then  he  could  follow  the  top  of  the  heights,  and  the  posi- 
tion of  the  sentries  or  of  any  body  of  men  encamped  there 
would  in  itself  be  a  guide  to  him  as  to  the  existence  of 
paths  to  the  strand  below.  The  first  step  was  the  most 
difficult.  How  should  he  manage  to  get  himself  taken 
prisoner?  And  this  was  the  more  difficult  as  it  was  abso- 
lutely necessary  that  he  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  French 
regulars  and  not  of  the  Canadians,  who  would  finish  the 
matter  at  once  by  killing  and  scalping  him. 

The  next  morning  he  again  went  off  to  the  Sutherland. 
He  was  in  high  spirits,  for  his  name  had  appeared  in  orders 
as  captain  and  as  appointed  assistant  quartermaster-general 
on  the  headquarter  staff.  On  entering  the  general's  cabin 
he  thanked  him  for  the  promotion. 

"  You  have  earned  it  over  and  over  again/'  the  general 
said;  "there  are  no  thanks  due  to  me.  Now,  have  you 
thought  out  a  plan  ?  " 

James  briefly  stated  the  difficulties  which  he  perceived 
in  the  way  of  any  other  scheme  than  that  of  getting  him- 
self taken  prisoner  by  the  French,  and  showed  that  that 
was  the  only  plan  that  seemed  to  offer  even  a  chance  of 
success. 

"  But  you  may  not  be  able  to  escape,"  Wolfe  said. 

"  I  may  not,"  James  replied,  "  and  in  that  case,  sir,  I 
must  of  course  remain  a  prisoner  until  you  take  Quebec  or 
I  am  exchanged.  Even  then  you  would  be  no  worse  off 
than  you  are  at  present,  for  I  must  of  course  be  taken 
prisoner  at  some  point  where  the  French  are  in  force  and 


THE   WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  319 

where  you  do  not  mean  to  land.  My  presence  there  would 
give  them  no  clue  whatever  to  your  real  intentions,  whereas 
were  I  taken  prisoner  anywhere  along  the  shore  they  would 
naturally  redouble  their  vigilance,  as  they  would  guess  that 
I  was  looking  for  some  way  of  ascending  the  heights." 

"How  do  you  propose  being  taken  ?"  Wolfe  asked. 

"My  idea  was,"  James  replied,  "  that  I  should  land  with 
a  party  near  Cap  Eouge  as  if  to  reconnoitre  the  French 
position  there.  We  should  of  course  be  speedily  discovered, 
and  would  then  retreat  to  the  boats.  I  should  naturally 
be  the  last  to  go,  and  might  well  manage  to  be  cut  off." 

"  Yes,"  Wolfe  replied,  "  but  you  might  also,  and  that  far 
more  easily,  manage  to  get  shot.  I  don't  think  that  would 
do,  Captain  Walsham;  the  risks  would  be  twenty  to  one 
against  your  escaping  being  shot.  Can  you  think  of  no 
other  plan  ?  " 

"  The  only  other  plan  that  I  can  think  of,"  James  said, 
"might  involve  others  being  taken  prisoners.  I  might 
row  in  toward  Cap  Eouge  in  broad  daylight  as  if  to  exam- 
ine the  landing-place,  and  should  of  course  draw  their  fire 
upon  the  boat.  Before  starting  I  should  fire  two  or  three 
shots  into  the  boat  close  to  the  water  line  and  afterward 
plug  them  up  with  rags,  then  when  their  fire  became  heavy 
I  should  take  the  plugs  out  and  let  the  boat  fill.  As  she 
did  so  I  could  shout  that  I  surrendered  and  then  we  could 
drift  till  we  neared  the  shore  in  the  water-logged  boat,  or 
swim  ashore.  I  can  swim  well  myself,  and  should,  of 
course,  want  four  men  Avho  could  swim  well  also  picked 
out  as  the  crew." 

"The  plan  is  a  dangerous  one,"  Wolfe  said,  "but  less  so 
than  the  other." 

"  One  cannot  win  a  battle  without  risking  life,  sir," 
James  said  quietly.  "  Some  of  us  might,  of  course,  be  hit, 
but  as  we  risk  our  lives  whenever  we  get  within  range  of 
the  enemy  I  do  not  see  that  that  need  be  considered;   at 


320  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA :   OR, 

any  rate,  sir,  I  am  ready  to  make  the  attempt  if  the  plan 
has  your  approval." 

"  I  tell  you  frankly,  Captain  Walsham,  that  I  think  your 
chances  of  success  are  absolutely  nil.  At  the  same  time 
there  is  just  a  faint  possibility  that  you  may  get  ashore 
alive,  escape  from  the  French,  discover  a  pathway,  and 
(  bring  me  the  news;  and  as  the  only  chance  of  the  expedi- 
tion being  successful  now  depends  upon  our  discovering 
such  a  path,  I  am  not  justified  in  refusing  even  this  faint 
chance/' 

The  general  touched  a  bell  which  stood  on  the  table 
before  him. 

"  "Will  you  ask  the  captain  to  come  here  ?  "  he  said  to  the 
officer  who  answered  the  summons. 

"  Captain  Peters,"  he  said  when  the  captain  appeared, 
"  I  want  you  to  pick  out  for  me  four  men  upon  whom  you 
can  thoroughly  rely.  In  the  first  place  they  must  be  good 
swimmers,  in  the  second  place  they  must  be  able  to  hold 
their  tongues,  and  lastly  they  must  be  prepared  to  pass 
some  months  in  a  French  prison.  A  midshipman  with  the 
same  qualifications  will  be  required  to  go  with  them." 

The  captain  naturally  looked  surprised  at  so  unusual  a 
request. 

"  Captain  Walsham  is  going  to  be  taken  prisoner  by  the 
French,"  General  Wolfe  explained,  "and  the  only  way  it 
can  be  done  is  for  a  whole  boat's  crew  to  be  taken  with 
him,"  and  he  then  detailed  the  plan  which  had  been  ar- 
ranged. "  Of  course  you  can  offer  the  men  any  reward 
you  may  think  fit,  and  can  promise  the  midshipman  early 
promotion,"  he  concluded. 

"Very  well,  general;  1  have  no  doubt  I  can  find  four 
men  and  a  midshipman  willing  to  volunteer  for  the  affair, 
especially  as,  if  you  succeed,  their  imprisonment  will  be  a 
short  one.     When  will  the  attempt  be  made  ?  " 

"  If  you  can  drift  up  the  river  as  far  as  Cap  Eouge  before 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  321 

daylight/'  James  said  in  answer  to  an  inquiring  look  from 
the  general,  "  we  will  attempt  it  to-morrow  morning.  I 
should  say  that  the  best  plan  would  be  for  me  to  appear 
opposite  their  camp  when  day  breaks,  as  if  I  was  trying 
to  obtain  a  close  view  of  it  in  the  early  morning." 

"The  sooner  the  better,"  General  Wolfe  said;  "every 
day  is  of  importance.  But  how  do  you  propose  to  get  back 
again,  that  is  supposing  that  everything  goes  well  ?" 

"  I  propose,  general,  that  I  should  conceal  myself  some- 
where on  the  face  of  the  heights.  I  will  spread  a  hand- 
kerchief against  a  rock  or  tree  so  that  it  will  not  be  seen 
either  from  above  or  below,  but  will  be  visible  from  the 
ships  in  the  river.  I  cannot  say,  of  course,  whether  it  will 
be  near  Cap  Rouge  or  Quebec;  but  if  you  will  have  a  sharp 
look-out  kept  through  a  glass  as  the  ships  drift  up  and 
down  you  are  sure  to  see  it,  and  can  let  me  know  that  you 
do  so  by  dipping  the  ensign.  At  night  I  will  make  my 
way  down  to  the  shore,  and  if  at  midnight  exactly  you  will 
send  a  boat  for  me  I  shall  be  ready  to  swim  off  to  her  when 
they  show  a  lantern  as  they  approach  the  shore.  Of  course 
I  cannot  say  on  what  day  I  may  be  in  a  position  to  show  the 
signal,  but  at  any  rate  if  a  week  passes  without  your  seeing 
it  you  will  know  that  I  have  failed  to  make  my  escape,  or 
that  I  have  been  killed  after  getting  out." 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 


A   DANGEROUS   EXPEDITION". 


The  details  of  the  proposed  expedition  being  thus  aiv 
ranged  the  captain"  left  the  cabin  with  James,  and  the  lat- 
ter paced  to  and  fro  on  the  quarter-deck  while  the  captain 
sent  for  the  boatswain  and  directed  him  to  pick  out  four 
men  who  could  swim  well  and  who  were  ready  to  volun- 
teer for  desperate  service. 

While  the  captain  was  so  engaged  James  saw  a  naval 
officer  staring  fixedly  at  him.  He  recognized  him  instantly, 
though  more  than  four  years  had  elapsed  since  he  had  last 
seen  him.     He  at  once  stepped  across  the  quarter-deck. 

"  How  are  you,  Lieutenant  Horton  ?  it  is  a  long  time 
since  we  last  parted  on  the  Potomac." 

Horton  would  have  refused  the  proffered  hand,  but  he 
had  already  injured  himself  very  sorely  in  the  eyes  of  the 
squire  by  his  outburst  of  ill-feeling  against  James,  so  he 
shook  hands  and  said  coldly: 

"  Yes,  your  position  has  changed  since  then." 

"Yes,"  James  said  with  a  laugh,  "  but  that  was  only  a 
temporary  eclipse.  That  two  months  before  the  mast  was 
a  sort  of  interlude  for  which  I  am  deeply  thankful.  Had 
it  not  been  for  my  getting  into  that  smuggling  scrape  I 
should  have  been  at  the  present  moment  commencing 
practice  as  a  doctor  instead  of  being  a  captain  in  his  maj- 
esty's service." 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  323 

The  words  were  not  calculated  to  improve  Horton's 
temper.  What  a  mistake  he  had  made!  Had  he  inter- 
fered on  James  Walsham's  behalf — and  a  word  from  him 
saying  that  James  was  the  son  of  a  medical  man  and  was 
assuredly  mixed  up  in  this  smuggling  affair  only  by  acci- 
dent— he  would  have  been  released.  He  had  not  spoken 
that  word,  and  the  consequence  was  he  had  himself  fallen 
into  bad  odor  with  the  squire,  and  James  Walsham,  instead 
of  drudging  away  as  a  country  practitioner,  was  an  officer 
of  rank  equal  to  himself,  for  he  as  second  lieutenant  in  the 
Sutherland  ranked  with  a  captain  in  the  army. 

Not  only  this,  but  whenever  he  went  to  Sidmouth  he  had 
heard  how  James  had  been  mentioned  in  the  dispatches 
and  how  much  he  was  distinguishing  himself.  Everything 
seemed  to  combine  against  him.  He  had  hated  James 
Walsham  from  the  day  when  the  latter  had  thrashed  him 
and  had  acted  as  Aggie's  champion  against  him;  he  had 
hated  him  more  when  he  found  Aggie  installed  as  the 
squire's  heiress,  and  saw  how  high  James  stood  in  her  good 
graces,  and  that  he  had  been  taken  up  by  the  squire. 

He  had  hoped  that  he  had  gained  the  advantage  over  him 
when  he  had  come  back  a  naval  officer,  while  James  was 
still  a  school-boy  and  had  kept  aloof  from  the  house  while 
he  devoted  himself  to  the  young  heiress.  Everything  had 
seemed  going  on  well  with  his  plans  until  the  very  circum- 
stance which  at  the  time  seemed  so  opportune,  namely, 
the  pressing  James  as  a  seaman  on  board  the  Thetis,  had 
turned  out  so  disastrous.  The  letter  in  which  he  had  suf- 
fered his  exultation  to  appear  had  angered  the  squire,  had 
set  Mrs.  Walsham  and  her  friend  the  ex-sergeant  against 
him,  and  had  deeply  offended  Aggie.  It  had,  too,  enabled 
the  squire  to  take  instant  measures  for  procuring  James' 
discharge,  and  had  now  placed  the  latter  in  a  position 
equal  to  his  own. 

James,  on  his  part,  did  not  like  Eichard  Horton,  but  .he 


324  WITH   WOLFE    IN    CANADA:    OR, 

felt  no  active  animosity  against  him.  He  had  got  the  best 
of  it  in  that  first  quarrel  of  theirs,  and  although  he  had 
certainly  felt  very  sore  and  angry  at  the  time  Richard  was 
staying  at  the  Hall  and  seemed  to  have  taken  his  place  al- 
together as  Aggie's  friend,  this  feeling  had  long  since  died 
away,  for  he  knew  from  the  letters  of  Mr.  Wilks  that  Aggie 
had  no  liking  whatever  for  Richard  Horton. 

"You  were  at  Sidmouth  in  the  spring,  I  heard,"  he  said; 
"  you  found  my  mother  looking  well,  I  hope  ?  " 

"Yes, I  was  there  a  fortnight  before  we  sailed,"  Richard 
said.     "  I  think  she  was  looking  about  as  usual." 

For  a  few  minutes  they  talked  in  a  stiff  and  somewhat 
constrained  tone,  for  Richard  could  not  bring  himself  to 
speak  cordially  to  this  man  whom  he  regarded  as  a  dan- 
gerous rival.     Presently  the  captain  came  up  to  them. 

"I  have  picked  four  volunteers  for  your  work,  Captain 
Walsham.  They  were  somewhat  surprised  at  first  to  find 
that  they  were  required  for  a  bout  in  a  French  prison;  but 
sailors  are  always  ready  for  any  hare-brained  adventure, 
and  they  made  no  objection  whatever  when  I  explained 
what  they  would  have  to  do.  Next  to  fighting  a  French- 
man there's  nothing  a  sailor  likes  so  much  as  taking  him 
in.  Young  Middleton  goes  in  command  of  the  boat;  he 
is  a  regular  young  pickle,  and  is  as  pleased  at  the  prospect 
as  if  a  French  prison  were  the  most  amusing  place  in  the 
world.  He  knows,  of  course,  that  there  will  be  some  con- 
siderable danger  of  his  being  shot  before  he  is  taken  pris- 
oner; but  I  need  hardly  say  that  the  danger  adds  to  the 
interest  of  the  scheme.  It's  a  risky  business  you  have  un- 
dertaken, Captain  Walsham,  terribly  risky;  but  if  you 
succeed  you  will  have  saved  the  expedition  from  turning 
out  a  failure,  and  we  shall  all  be  under  obligations  to  you 
for  the  rest  of  our  lives.  Has  Captain  Walsham  told  you 
what  he  is  undertaking,  Mr.  Horton  ?  " 

"  No,  sir." 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  325 

"  He  is  going  to  get  taken  prisoner  in  the  gig  in  order 
that  he  may,  if  possible,  give  the  French  the  slip  again, 
find  out  some  way  down  that  line  of  cliffs,  and  so  enable 
the  general  to  get  into  the  heart  of  the  French  expedition. 
It  is  a  grand  scheme,  but  a  risky  one.  The  chances  are  a 
hundred  to  one  against  you,  Captain  Walsham." 

"  That  is  just  what  the  general  said,"  James  replied  with 
a  smile.  "I  don't  think  myself  they  are  more  than  five 
to  one  against  me;  but  even  if  they  were  a  thousand  it 
would  be  worth  trying,  for  a  thousand  lives  would  be 
cheaply  sacrificed  to  insure  the  success  of  this  expedition." 

"  There  are  not  many  men  who  would  like  to  try  it,"  the 
captain  said.  "I  say  honestly  I  shouldn't  myself.  Any- 
thing in  the  nature  of  duty,  whether  it's  laying  your  ship 
alongside  a  Frenchman  of  twice  her  weight  of  metal,  or  a 
boat  expedition  to  cut  out  a  frigate  from  under  the  guns 
of  the  battery,  I  should  be  ready  to  take  my  share  in;  but 
an  expedition  like  yours,  to  be  carried  out  alone,  in  cold 
blood  and  in  the  dark,  I  should  have  no  stomach  for.  I 
don't  want  to  discourage  you,  and  I  honor  your  courage  in 
undertaking  it,  but  I  am  heartily  glad  that  the  general  did 
not  propose  to  me  instead  of  to  you  to  undertake  it." 

"  You  would  have  done  it  if  he  had,  sir,"  James  said, 
smiling,  "and  so  would  any  officer  of  this  expedition.  I 
consider  myself  most  highly  honored  in  the  general  in- 
trusting me  with  the  mission.  Besides,  you  must  remem- 
ber that  it  is  not  so  strange  to  me  as  it  would  be  to  most 
men.  I  have  been  for  four  years  engaged  in  forest  war- 
fare, scouting  at  night  in  the  woods,  and  keeping  my  ears 
open  to  the  slightest  sound  which  might  tell  of  a  skulking 
redskin  being  at  hand.  My  eyes  have  become  so  accustomed 
to  darkness,  that,  although  still  very  far  short  of  those  of 
the  Indians,  I  can  see  plainly  where  one  unaccustomed  to 
such  work  would  see  nothing.  I  am  accustomed  to  rely 
upon  my  own  senses,  to  step  noiselessly,  or  to  crawl  along 


326  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

on  the  ground  like  an  Indian.  Therefore,  you  see,  to  me 
this  enterprise  does  not  present  itself  in  the  same  light 
as  it  naturally  would  to  you." 

"  You  may  make  light  of  it,"  the  captain  said,  "  but  it's 
a  dangerous  business,  look  at  it  as  you  will.  Well,  if  you 
go  through  it  safely,  Captain  Walsham,  you  will  be  the 
hero  of  this  campaign." 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  tide  turned,  and  the  vessels 
began  to  drift  up  the  river.  The  four  sailors  had  of  course 
mentioned  to  their  comrades  the  service  upon  which  they 
were  about  to  be  engaged.  The  captain  had  not  thought 
it  necessary  to  enjoin  secrecy  upon  them,  for  there  was  no 
communication  with  the  shore,  no  fear  of  the  knowledge 
spreading  beyond  the  ship;  besides,  the  boat  had  to  be 
damaged,  and  this  alone  would  tell  the  sailors  when  she 
was  lowered  in  the  water  that  she  was  intended  to  be  cap- 
tured. A  marine  was  called  up  to  where  the  captain's  gig 
was  hanging  from  the  davits,  James  pointed  out  a  spot 
just  below  the  water-line,  and  the  man,  standing  a  yard  or 
two  away,  fired  at  it,  the  ball  making  a  hole  through  both 
sides  of  the  boat.  Another  shot  was  fired  two  or  three 
inches  higher,  and  the  four  holes  were  then  plugged  up 
with  oakum. 

All  was  now  in  readiness  for  the  attempt.  James  dined 
with  Captain  Peters,  the  first  lieutenant  and  four  officers 
of  the  general's  staff  being  also  present,  General  Wolfe 
himself  being  too  ill  to  be  at  table,  and  Admiral  Holmes 
having  early  in  the  morning  gone  down  the  river  to  confer 
with  Admiral  Saunders. 

"  I  drink  good  health  and  a  safe  return  to  you,  Captain 
Walsham,  for  our  sake  as  well  as  yours.  As  a  general 
thing,  when  an  officer  is  chosen  for  dangerous  service  he  is 
an  object  of  envy  by  all  his  comrades;  but  for  once  I  do 
not  think  any  one  on  board  would  care  to  undertake  your 
mission." 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  327 

"  Why,  sir,  your  little  midshipman  is  delighted  at  going 
with  me.  He  and  I  have  been  chatting  the  matter  over 
and  he  is  in  the  highest  glee." 

"Ah!  he  has  only  got  the  first  chance  of  being  shot  at/' 
Captain  Peters  said.  "  That  comes  in  the  line  of  duty, 
and  I  hope  there  isn't  an  officer  on  board  a  ship  but  would 
volunteer  at  once  for  that  service.  But  your  real  danger 
only  begins  when  his  ends.  By  the  way,"  he  asked,  as, 
after  dinner  was  over,  he  was  walking  up  and  down  the 
quarter-deck  talking  to  James,  "  have  you  and  Lieutenant 
Horton  met  before  ?  I  thought  you  seemed  to  know  each 
other  when  I  came  up,  but  since  then  I  have  noticed  that 
while  all  the  other  officers  of  the  ship  have  been  chatting 
with  you  he  has  kept  aloof." 

"  We  knew  each  other  at  home,  sir,"  James  said;  "  but 
we  were  never  very  good  friends.  Our  acquaintanceship 
commenced  when  we  were  boys  with  a  fight.  I  got  the 
best  of  it,  and  Horton  has  never,  I  think,  quite  forgiven 
me." 

"I  don't  like  the  young  fellow,"  Captain  Peters  said 
shortly.  "  I  know  he  was  not  popular  in  the  Thetis,  and 
they  say  he  showed  the  white-feather  out  in  the  East.  I 
wouldn't  have  had  him  on  board,  but  the  first  lord  asked 
me  as  a  personal  favor  to  take  him.  I  have  had  no  reason 
to  complain  of  him  since  he  joined,  but  I  know  that  he  is 
no  more  popular  among  my  other  officers  than  he  was  in 
the  Thetis." 

"  I  never  heard  a  word  against  him,  sir,"  James  said  earn- 
estly. "  His  uncle,  Mr.  Linthorne,  has  large  estates  near 
Sidmouth,  and  has  been  the  kindest  friend  to  me  and  mine. 
At  one  time  it  was  thought  that  Horton  would  be  his  heir, 
but  a  granddaughter,  who  had  for  years  been  missing,  was 
found;  but  still  Horton  will  take,  I  should  think,  a  con- 
siderable slice  of  the  property,  and  it  would  grieve  the 
squire  terribly  if  Horton  failed  in  his  career.     I  think  it's 


328  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:    OR, 

only  a  fault  of  manners,  sir,  if  I  may  say  so,  and  certainly 
I  myself  know  nothing  whatever  against  him." 

"  I  don't  know,"  Captain  Peters  replied  thoughtfully. 
"Just  before  I  sailed  I  happened  to  meet  an  old  friend, 
and  over  our  dinner  I  mentioned  the  names  of  my  officers. 
He  told  me  he  knew  this  Mr.  Linthorne  well,  and  that 
Horton  had  gone  to  sea  with  him  for  the  first  time  as  a 
midshipman,  and  that  there  was  certainly  something  queer 
about  him  as  a  boy,  for  Linthorne  had  specially  asked  him 
to  keep  his  eye  upon  him,  and  had  begged  him  frankly  to 
let  him  know  how  he  conducted  himself.  That  rather  set 
me  against  him,  you  know." 

"  I  don't  think  that  was  anything,"  James  urged.  "  I  do 
not  much  like  Horton,  but  I  should  not  like  you  to  have 
a  false  impression  of  him.  It  was  a  mere  boyish  affair,  sir 
— in  fact  it  was  connected  with  that  fight  with  me.  I 
don't  think  he  gave  a  very  strictly  accurate  account  of  it, 
and  his  uncle,  who  in  some  matters  is  very  strict,  although 
one  of  the  kindest  of  men,  took  the  thing  up  and  sent  him 
away  to  sea.  Horton  was  certainly  punished  severely 
enough  for  that  stupid  business  without  its  counting 
against  him  afterward." 

"  I  like  the  way  you  speak  up  in  his  defence,  Captain 
Walsham,  especially  as  you  frankly  say  you  don't  like  him, 
and  henceforth  I  will  dismiss  the  affair  from  my  mind,  but 
I  should  say  that  he  has  never  forgiven  it,  although  you 
may  have  done  so." 

"That's  natural  enough,"  James  laughed,  "because  I 
came  best  out  of  it." 

To  Eichard  Horton  the  news  that  James  Walsham  was 
about  to  undertake  a  desperate  enterprise,  "which,  if  he 
succeeded  in  it,  would  bring  bim  great  honor  and  credit, 
was  bitter  in  the  extreme,  and  the  admiration  expressed 
by  the  other  officers  :it  his  courage  in  undertaking  it  added 
to  his  anger  and  disgust.    He  walked  moodily  up  and  down 


THE  WINNING   OP  A  CONTINENT.  329 

the  quarter-deck  all  the  afternoon  to  think  the  matter 
over,  and  at  each  moment  his  fury  increased.  Could  he 
in  any  way  have  put  a  stop  to  the  adventure  he  would  in- 
stantly have  done  so,  but  there  was  no  possible  way  of  in- 
terfering. 

The  thought  that  annoyed  him  most  was  of  the  enthusi- 
asm with  which  the  news  of  the  successful  termination  of 
the  enterprise  would  be  received  at  Sidmouth.  Already, 
as  he  knew,  Aggie  regarded  James  as  a  hero,  and  the  squire 
was  almost  as  proud  of  his  mention  in  dispatches  as  if  he 
had  been  his  own  son;  but  for  this  he  cared  but  little.  It 
was  Aggie's  good  opinion  Richard  Horton  desired  to  gain. 
James  Walsham  still  thought  of  her  as  the  girl  of  twelve 
he  had  last  seen,  but  Richard  Horton  knew  her  as  almost 
a  woman,  and  although  at  first  he  had  resolved  to  marry 
her  as  his  uncle's  heiress  he  now  really  cared  for  her  for 
herself. 

On  the  visit  before  James  had  left  home  Richard  had 
felt  certain  that  his  cousin  liked  him;  but  since  that  time 
he  had  not  only  made  no  progress,  but  he  felt  that  he  had 
lost  rather  than  gained  ground.  The  girl  was  always 
friendly  with  him,  but  it  was  the  cool  friendliness  of  a 
cousin,  and  somehow  Richard  instinctively  felt  James 
Walsham  was  the  cause. 

In  vain  he  had  angrily  told  himself  that  it  was  absurd 
to  suppose  that  his  cousin  could  care  for  this  fellow,  whom 
she  had  only  seen  as  an  awkward  boy,  who  had  been  con- 
tent to  stop  away  from  the  house  and  never  go  near  her  for 
weeks.  Still,  though  he  told  himself  it  was  absurd,  he 
knew  that  it  was  so.  When  the  conversation  happened  to 
turn  upon  James  she  seldom  took  any  part  in  it;  but 
Richard  knew  that  it  was  not  from  indifference  as  to  the 
subject.  There  was  a  soft  flush  on  her  cheek,  a  light  in 
her  eyes,  which  he  had  never  been  able  to  call  up;  and 
many  a  time  he  had  ground  his  teeth  in  silent  rage  when 


330  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

the  squire  and  Mr.  Wilks  were  discussing  the  news  received 
in  James'  last  letter,  and  expressing  their  hopes  that  ere 
long  he  would  be  back  from  foreign  service. 

Although  by  no  means  fond  of  encountering  danger, 
Kichard  felt  that  he  would  gladly  pick  an  open  quarrel 
with  the  man  he  regarded  as  his  rival  and  shoot  him  like 
a  dog — for  in  those  days  duels  were  matters  of  every-day 
occurrence — but  there  was  no  possibility  of  doing  this  at 
the  present  juncture;  and,  moreover,  he  knew  that  this 
would  be  the  worst  possible  way  of  ridding  himself  of 
him;  for,  were  James  to  fall  by  his  hands,  his  chances  of 
winning  Aggie  would  be  hopelessly  extinguished. 

"No,"  he  said  to  himself,  "that  is  out  of  the  question; 
but  I  will  do  something.  Come  what  may,  he  shall  never 
go  back  to  Sidmouth." 

The  squadron  drifted  up  beyond  Cap  Eouge  and  an- 
chored at  the  top  of  the  flood  an  hour  before  daybreak. 
The  gig  was  lowered,  and  James  Walsham,  amid  many  good 
wishes  and  hearty  farewells  from  the  officers,  took  his  place 
in  her  by  the  side  of  the  midshipman. 

"  Look  out  for  my  signal,"  he  said.  "Any  time  after 
to-day  you  may  see  it." 

"  We  will  see  it  if  you  make  it,  my  boy,"  said  the  cap- 
tain, who  had  come  on  deck  to  see  him  off.  "  Don't  you 
fear  about  that.  If  you  make  your  signal  you  may  rely 
upon  it  our  boat  will  be  ashore  for  you  that  night." 

Another  moment  and  the  boat  pulled  away  from  the 
side  of  the  ship. 

"  Take  it  easy,  lads,"  young  Middleton  said,  "  only  just 
dip  your  oars  in  the  water.  We  have  but  three  miles  to 
row  with  the  stream,  and  don't  want  to  be  there  till  the 
day  begins  to  show." 

The  oars  had  been  muffled,  and  noiselessly  the  boat 
dropped  down  the  stream  until  she  neared  Cap  Rouge, 
then  they  rowed  in  toward  the  French  shore. 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  331 

The  day  was  just  beginning  to  break  in  the  east  as  they 
neared  the  spot  where  the  French  camp  was  situated.  It 
stood  high  up  on  the  plateau ;  but  there  were  a  small  num- 
ber of  tents  on  the  low  ground  by  the  river,  as  some  bat- 
teries had  been  erected  here.  They  were  but  two  hundred 
yards  from  the  shore  when  a  French  sentry  challenged. 
They  gave  no  answer,  and  the  soldier  at  once  fired. 

"Keep  about  this  distance  out,"  James  ordered.  " Eow 
quietly.     I  will  stand  up  as  if  I  were  watching  the  shore." 

As  soon  as  the  shot  was  fired  it  was  answered  by  shots 
from  other  sentries.  A  minute  later  a  drum  was  heard  to 
beat  sharply,  and  then  in  the  faint  light  a  number  of 
French  soldiers  could  be  seen  running  at  full  speed  toward 
the  shore.  The  shots  fell  thickly  round  the  boat,  and  one 
of  the  men  dropped  his  oar  as  a  bullet  struck  him  on  the 
shoulder. 

"  Pull  out  the  plugs,"  James  said. 

The  oakum  was  pulled  out  and  thrown  overboard,  and 
the  water  rushed  in. 

"  Now  turn  her  head  from  the  shore,  as  if  we  were  try- 
ing to  escape."  So  rapidly  did  the  water  rush  in  through 
the  four  holes  that  in  a  minute  the  gunwale  was  nearly 
level  with  the  water.  "  Turn  her  over  now,"  James  said, 
and  in  a  moment  the  boat  was  upset  and  the  men  clinging 
to  the  bottom.  A  shout  of  exultation  rose  from  the  shore 
as  the  boat  was  seen  to  upset,  and  the  firing  at  once  ceased. 

"  Swim  toward  the  shore  and  push  the  boat  before  you," 
the  young  midshipman  said;  "they  won't  fire  anymore 
now,  and  we  have  finished  the  first  part  of  our  business." 

Pushing  the  boat  before  them,  the  men  made  their  way 
slowly  toward  the  shore,  striking  the  land  half  a  mile  below 
the  point  where  they  had  overturned.  The  French  soldiers 
had  followed  them  down  the  bank  and  surrounded  them 
as  they  landed.  The  holes  in  the  boat  explained  for  them- 
selves the  cause  of  the  disaster.    An  officer  stepped  forward. 


332  WITH   WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"  You  are  our  prisoners/'  he  said  to  James. 

The  latter  bowed.  "It  is  the  fortune  of  war,"  he  said; 
"  your  men  are  better  shots  than  I  gave  them  credit  for," 
and  he  pointed  to  the  holes  in  the  boat.  He  spoke  in 
English,  but  the  officer  guessed  his  meaning. 

Some  of  the  Indians  and  Canadians  soon  came  flocking 
down,  and  with  angry  gestures  demanded  that  the  prison- 
ers should  be  shot;  but  the  French  officer  waved  them  off, 
and  placed  a  strong  guard  of  his  own  men  around  them  to 
prevent  their  being  touched  by  the  Indians.  The  young 
midshipman  spoke  French  fluently,  having  been  specially 
selected  by  the  captain  for  that  reason;  but  it  had  been 
agreed  between  him  and  James  that  he  should  not  betray 
his  knowledge  of  the  language,  as  he  might  thereby  pick 
up  information  which  might  be  useful.  They  were  at  once 
conducted  before  Bougainville. 

"Do  you  speak  French  ?  "  he  asked. 

James  shook'  his  head.  The  midshipman  looked  as  if 
he  had  not  understood  the  question. 

"  It  is  clear,"  the  French  officer  said  to  those  standing 
around  him,  "that  they  came  in  to  reconnoitre  the  landing- 
place,  and  thought  in  the  dim  light  they  could  run  the 
gauntlet  of  our  sentries'  fire.  It  was  more  accurate  than 
they  gave  them  credit  for." 

"The  boat  was  struck  twice,  you  say  ?" 

"  Yes,  general,"  the  officer  who  conducted  them  into  the 
tent  replied;  "two  balls  right  through  her,  and  one  of  the 
men  was  hit  on  the  shoulder." 

"  The  reconnaissance  looks  as  if  Wolfe  meant  to  attempt 
landing  here,"  Bougainville  said.  "We  must  keep  a  sharp 
look-out.  I  will  send  them  on  to  Quebec  for  the  general 
to  question  them.  He  will  find  some  one  there  who  speaks 
their  language.  I  will  send  at  once  to  tell  him  we  have 
captured  them.  But  I  can't  very  well  do  so  till  we  have  a 
convoy  going  with  regulars  to  guard  it.     If  they  were  to  go 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  333 

in  charge  of  Canadians  the  chances  of  their  arriving  alive 
in  Quebec  would  be  slight.  Let  the  sailors  be  placed  in  a 
tent  in  your  lines,  Chateaudun,  and  place  a  sentry  over 
them  to  see  that  the  Indians  don't  get  at  them.  The  two 
officers  can  have  the  tent  that  Le  Bceuf  gave  up  yesterday; 
you  can  put  a  sentry  there,  but  they  can  go  in  and  out  as 
they  like.  There  is  no  fear  of  their  trying  to  escape;  for 
if  they  once  went  outside  the  lines  of  the  regulars  the  In- 
dians and  Canadians  would  make  short  work  of  them." 

The  officer  led  James  and  the  midshipman  to  a  tent  in 
the  staff  lines,  whose  owner  had  ridden  to  Quebec  on  the 
previous  night  with  dispatches,  and  motioned  to  them 
that  it  was  to  be  theirs.  He  also  made  signs  to  them  that 
they  could  move  about  as  they  chose;  but  significantly 
warned  them  by  a  gesture  that  if  they  ventured  beyond 
the  tents  the  Indians  would  make  short  work  of  them. 

For  a  time  the  prisoners  made  no  attempt  to  leave  the 
tent,  for  the  Indians  stood  scowling  at  a  short  distance 
off,  and  would  have  entered  had  not  the  sentry  on  duty 
prevented  them  from  doing  so. 

"Do  not  talk  too  loudly,"  James  said.  "It  is  probable 
that  in  a  camp  like  this  there  is  some  one  who  understands 
English.  Very  likely  they  are  playing  the  same  game  with 
us  that  we  are  with  them.  They  pretend  there  is  no  one 
who  can  speak  to  us;  but  very  likely  there  may  be  some 
one  standing  outside  now  trying  to  listen  to  what  we  say." 
Then  raising  his  voice  he  went  on,  "  What  abominable  luck 
I  have!  Who  could  have  reckoned  upon  the  boat  being 
hit  twice  at  that  distance  ?  I  thought  we  had  fairly  suc- 
ceeded. The  general  will  be  in  a  nice  way  when  he  finds 
we  don't  come  back." 

"  Yes,"  Middleton  rejoined,  "  and  to  think  that  we  are 
likely  to  spend  the  winter  in  prison  at  Quebec  instead  of 
Old  England.     I  am  half  inclined  to  try  and  escape ! " 

"  Nonsense ! "  James  replied ;  "  it  would  be  madness  to 


334  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

think  of  such  a  thing.  These  Indians  can  see  in  the  dark, 
and  the  moment  you  put  your  foot  outside  the  lines  of 
these  French  regulars  you  would  be  carried  off  and  scalped. 
No,  no,  my  boy;  that  would  be  simply  throwing  away  our 
lives.  There  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  wait  quietly  till  either 
Wolfe  takes  Quebec  or  you  are  exchanged." 

The  prisoners  were  treated  with  courtesy  by  the  French 
officers,  and  comfortable  meals  were  provided.  In  the 
evening  they  went  outside  the  tent  for  a  short  time,  but 
did  not  venture  to  go  far,  for  Indians  were  still  moving 
about,  and  the  hostile  glances  which  they  threw  at  the 
prisoners  were  sufficient  to  indicate  what  would  happen  to 
the  latter  if  they  were  caught  beyond  the  protection  of  the 
sentry. 

"Bougainville  was  right  in  supposing  that  prisoners 
would  not  be  likely  to  attempt  to  escape,"  James  said  in 
a  low  voice.  "  The  look  of  those  Indians  would  be  quite 
sufficient  to  prevent  any  one  from  attempting  it  under  or- 
dinary circumstances.  It  is  well  that  my  business  will 
take  me  down  the  river  toward  Quebec,  while  they  will 
make  sure  that  I  shall  have  made  up  the  river  with  a  view 
of  making  my  way  off  to  the  ships  the  next  time  they  go 
up  above  Cap  Rouge." 

"  It  will  be  risky  work  getting  through  them,"  the  mid- 
shipman remarked;  "but  all  the  same  I  wish  I  was  going 
with  you  instead  of  having  to  stick  here  in  prison." 

"  It  would  be  running  too  great  a  risk  of  spoiling  my 
chance  of  success,"  James  said.  "  I  am  accustomed  to  the 
redskins,  and  can  crawl  through  them  as  noiselessly  as 
t/hey  could  themselves.  Besides,  one  can  hide  where  two 
could  not.  I  only  hope  that  when  they  find  I  have  gone 
they  won't  take  it  into  their  heads  to  revenge  my  escape 
upon  you." 

"  There  is  no  fear  of  that,"  the  midshipman  said.  "  I 
shall  be  sound  asleep  in  the  tent,  and  when  they  wake  me  up 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  335 

and  find  you  are  gone  I  shall  make  a  tremendous  fuss,  and 
pretend  to  be  most  indignant  that  you  have  deserted  me." 

The  two  prisoners  had  eaten  but  little  of  the  meals 
served  to  them  that  clay,  putting  the  greater  portion  aside 
and  hiding  it  in  the  straw  which  served  for  their  beds,  in 
order  that  James  might  take  with  him  a  supply,  for  it 
might  be  three  or  four  days  before  he  could  be  taken  off 
by  the  ships'  boats. 

"  I  suppose  you  won't  go  very  far  to-night  ? "  the  mid> 
shipman  said  suddenly. 

"No/'  James  replied;  "I  shall  hide  somewhere  along 
the  face  of  the  cliff,  a  mile  or  so  away.  They  are  not  likely 
to  look  for  me  down  the  river  at  all;  but  if  they  do  they 
will  think  I  have  gone  as  far  as  I  can  away,  and  the  nearer 
I  am  to  this  place  the  safer." 

"  Look  here,"  the  midshipman  said.  "  I  am  going  strictly 
to  obey  orders;  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  just  possible  that 
something  may  turn  up  that  you  ought  to  know,  or  that 
might  make  me  want  to  bolt.  Suppose,  for  instance,  I 
heard  them  say  that  they  meant  to  shoot  us  both  in  the 
morning — it's  not  likely,  you  know;  still  it's  always  as 
well  to  be  prepared  for  whatever  might  happen- — if  so,  I 
should  crawl  out  of  camp  and  make  my  way  along  after 
you.  And  if  so,  I  shall  walk  along  the  edge  and  some- 
times give  two  little  whistles  like  this;  and  if  you  hear 
me,  you  answer  me." 

"Don't  be  foolish,  Middleton,"  James  said  seriously. 
"  You  would  only  risk  your  life  and  mine  by  any  nonsense 
of  that  sort.  There  can't  be  any  possible  reason  why  you 
should  want  to  go  away.  You  have  undertaken  to  carry 
this  out,  knowing  that  you  would  have  perhaps  to  remain 
a  prisoner  for  some  time;  and  having  undertaken  it,  you 
must  keep  to  the  plans  laid  down." 

"  But  I  am  going  to,  Captain  Walsham.  Still,  you  know, 
something  might  turn  up." 


336  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

"I  don't  see  that  anything  possibly  could  turn  up," 
James  insisted ;  "  but  if  at  any  future  time  you  do  think 
of  any  mad-brained  attempt  of  escaping,  you  must  take  off 
your  shoes,  and  you  must  put  your  foot  down  each  time 
as  gently  as  if  the  ground  were  covered  with  nails;  for  if 
you  were  to  tread  upon  a  twig,  and  there  were  an  Indian 
within  half  a  mile  of  you,  he  would  hear  it  crack.  But 
don't  you  attempt  any  such  folly.  No  good  could  possibly 
come  of  it,  and  you  would  be  sure  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  savages  or  Canadians;  and  you  know  how  they  treat 
prisoners." 

"I  know,"  the  boy  said;  "and  I  have  no  wish  to  have 
my  scalp  hanging  up  in  any  of  their  wigwams." 

It  was  midnight  before  the  camp  was  perfectly  still,  and 
then  James  Walsham  quietly  loosened  one  of  the  pegs  of 
the  canvas  at  the  back  of  the  tent,  and  with  a  warm  grasp 
of  the  midshipman's  hand  crawled  out.  The  lad  listened 
attentively,  but  he  could  not  hear  the  slightest  sound. 
The  sentinel  was  striding  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  tent, 
humming  the  air  of  a  French  song  as  he  walked.  Half  an 
hour  passed  without  the  slightest  stir,  and  the  midshipman 
was  sure  that  James  was  by  this  time  safely  beyond  the 
enemy's  camp. 

He  was  just  about  to  compose  himself  to  sleep  when  he 
heard  a  tramping  of  feet.  The  sentry  challenged,  the  pass- 
word was  given,  and  the  party  passed  on  toward  the  gen- 
eral's tent.  It  was  some  thirty  yards  distant,  and  the  sen- 
try posted  there  challenged.  "I  wonder  what's  up  ?"  the 
midshipman  said  to  himself;  and  lifting  the  canvas  he  put 
his  head  out  where  James  had  crawled  through.  The  men 
had  halted  before  the  general's  tent,  and  the  boy  heard  the 
general's  voice  from  inside  the  tent  ask  sharply,  "What 
is  it  ?  " 

"  I  regret  to  disturb  you,  Monsieur  le  General ;  but  we 
have  here  one  of  the  Canadian  pilots  who  has  swum  ashore 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  337 

from  the  enemy's  fleet  higher  up  the  river,  and  who  has 
important  news  for  you." 

The  midshipman  at  once  determined  to  hear  what  passed. 
He  had  already  taken  off  his  shoes;  and  he  now  crawled 
out  from  the  tent,  and  moving  with  extreme  caution  made 
his  way  round  to  the  back  of  the  general's  tent,  just  as  the 
latter,  having  thrown  on  his  coat  and  lighted  a  candle,  un- 
fastened the  entrance.  The  midshipman,  determined  to 
see  as  well  as  hear  what  was  going  on,  lifted  up  the  flap 
a  few  inches  behind,  and  as  he  lay  on  the  ground  peered 
in.  A  French  officer  had  just  entered,  and  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  Canadian,  whom  the  midshipman  recognized  at 
once  as  being  the  one  who  piloted  the  Sutherland  up  and 
down  the  river. 

"  Where  do  you  come  from  ?  "  Bougainville  asked. 

"I  swam  ashore  two  h purs  ago  from  the  English  ship 
Sutherland,"  the  Canadian  said. 

"  How  did  you  manage  to  escape  ?  " 

*  I  would  have  swum  ashore  long  ago,  but  at  night  I 
have  always  been  locked  up,  ever  since  I  was  captured,  in  a 
cabin  below.  To-night  the  door  opened  quietly,  and  some 
one  came  in  and  said : 

"  '  Hush ! — can  you  swim  ? ' 

lC '  Like  a  fish/  I  said. 

ft,cAre  you  ready  to  try  and  escape  if  I  give  you  the 
chance  ? ' 

"  '  I  should  think  so/  I  replied. 

" '  Then  follow  me,  but  don't  make  the  slightest  noise/ 

a  I  followed  him.  We  passed  along  the  main  deck,  where 
the  sailors  were  all  asleep  in  their  hammocks.  A  lantern 
was  burning  here,  and  I  saw  by  its  light  that  my  conductor 
was  an  officer.  He  led  me  along  till  we  entered  a  cabin — 
his  own,  I  suppose.  'Look/  he  whispered,  ' there  is  a  rope 
from  the  port-hole  down  to  the  water.  If  you  slide  quietly 
down  by  it  and  then  let  yourself  drift  till  you  are  well 
'   22 


338  WITH  WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

astern  of  the  ship  the  sentry  on  the  quarter-deck  will  not 
see  you.  Here  is  a  letter;  put  it  in  your  cap.  If  you  are 
fired  at  and  a  boat  is  lowered  to  catch  yon,  throw  the 
paper  away  at  once.  Will  you  swear  to  do  that  ? '  I  said  I 
would  swear  by  the  Virgin.  'Very  well/  he  went  on;  'if 
you  get  away  safely  and  swim  to  shore,  make  your  way 
without  a  minute's  delay  to  the  French  camp  at  Cap  Rouge 
and  give  this  letter  to  the  general.  It  is  a  matter  of  the 
most  extreme  importance.''     This  is  the  letter,  general." 

He  handed  a  small  piece  of  paper,  tightly  folded  up,  to 
Bougainville,  who  opened  it  and  read  it  by  the  light  of  the 
candle. 

He  gave  a  sharp  exclamation. 

"  Quick!  "  he  exclaimed;  "  come  along  to  the  tent  of  the 
prisoners.  I  am  warned  that  the  capture  was  a  ruse,  and 
that  the  military  officer  is  a  spy,  whose  object  here  is  to 
discover  a  landing-place.  He  is  to  escape  the  first  oppor 
tunity." 

The  three  men  at  once  ran  out  from  the  tent.  The  in- 
stant they  did  so  the  midshipman  crawled  in  under  the 
flap,  rushed  to  the  table  on  which  the  general  had  thrown 
the  piece  of  paper,  seized  it,  and  then  darted  out  again  and 
stole  quietly  away  in  the  darkness.  He  had  not  gone  twenty 
yards  when  a  volley  of  angry  exclamations  told  him  that 
the  French  general  had  discovered  that  the  tent  was  empty. 

The  night  was  a  dark  one,  and  to  prevent  himself  from 
falling  over  tent-ropes  the  midshipman  threw  himself  down 
and  crawled  along  on  his  hands  and  knees,  but  he  paused 
before  he  had  gone  many  yards  and  listened  intently.  The 
general  was  returning  to  his  tent. 

"  It  is  no  use  doing  anything  to-night,"  he  said.  "  Even 
an  Indian  could  not  follow  the  track  of  a  wagon.  At 
daybreak,  Major  Dorsay,  let  the  redskins  know  that  the 
prisoners  have  escaped,  and  offer  a  reward  of  fifty  crowns 
for  their  recapture,  dead  or  alive — I  care  not  which.     Let 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  339 

this  good  fellow  turn  in  at  the  guard  tent.     I  will  talk  to 
him  in  the  morning.     Good-night!" 

The  midshipman  kept  his  eyes  anxiously  on  the  dim 
light  that  could  be  faintly  seen  through  the  tent.  If  the 
general  missed  the  paper  he  might  guess  that  it  had  been 
taken  by  the  fugitives,  and  might  order  an  instant  search 
of  the  camp.  He. gave  a  sigh  of  relief  when  he  saw  the 
light  disappear  the  moment  the  French  officer  had  entered 
the  tent,  and  then  crawled  away  through  the  camp. 


CHAPTEK   XX. 


THE    PATH    DOWN   THE    HEIGHTS. 


As  the  midshipman  crawled  away  from  the  tent  of  the 
French  general  he  adopted  the  precautions  which  James 
had  suggested,  and  felt  the  ground  carefully  for  twigs  or 
sticks  each  time  he  moved.  The  still  glowing  emhers  of 
the  camp-fires  warned  him  where  the  Indians  and  Cana- 
dians were  sleeping,  and  carefully  avoiding  these  he  made 
his  way  up  beyond  the  limits  of  the  camp.  There  were 
no  sentries  posted  here,  for  the  French  were  perfectly  safe 
from  attack  from  that  quarter,  and  once  fairly  beyond  the 
camp  the  midshipman  rose  to  his  feet  and  made  his  way 
to  the  edge  of  the  slopes  above  the  St.  Lawrence.  He 
walked  for  about  a  mile,  and  then  paused  on  the  very  edge 
of  the  sharp  declivity  and  whistled  as  agreed  upon. 

A  hundred  yards  further  he  repeated  the  signal.  The 
fourth  time  he  whistled  he  heard  just  below  him  the  an- 
swer, and  a  minute  later  James  Walsham  stood  beside  him. 

"  You  young  scamp,  what  are  you  doing  here  ?  " 

"  It  was  not  my  fault,  Captain  "Walsham,  it  wasn't  in- 
deed; but  I  should  have  been  tomahawked  if  I  had  staid 
there  a  moment  longer." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  you  would  have  been  toma- 
hawked ?  "  James  asked  angrily,  for  he  was  convinced  that 
the  midshipman  had  made  up  his  mind  all  along  to  ac- 
company him. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  341 

"  The  pilot  of  the  Sutherland  swam  ashore  with  the  news 
that  you  had  been  taken  prisoner  on  purpose,  and  were 
really  a  spy."  1 

"  But  how  on  earth  did  he  know  that  ?  "  James  asked. 
"  I  took  care  the  man  was  not  on  deck  when  we  made  the 
holes  in  the  boat,  and  he  does  not  understand  a  word  of 
English,  so  he  could  not  have  overheard  what  the  men 
said.'" 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say,  sir,  that  it  is  a  case  of  treachery,  and 
that  one  of  our  officers  is  concerned  in  it.  The  man  said 
that  an  officer  released  him  from  his  cell,  and  took  him  to 
his  cabin,  and  then  lowered  him  by  a  rope  through  the 
port-hole." 

"Impossible!"  James  Walsham  said. 

"It  sounds  impossible,  sir;  but  I  am  afraid  it  isn't,  for 
the  officer  gave  him  a  note  to  bring  to  the  general,  telling 
him  all  about  it,  and  that  note  I  have  got  in  my  pocket 
now." 

The  midshipman  then  related  the  whole  circumstances 
of  his  discovery. 

"  It  is  an  extraordinary  affair,"  James  said.  "  However, 
you  are  certainly  not  to  blame  for  making  your  escape 
when  you  did.  You  could  not  have  got  back  into  your 
tent  till  too  late;  and  even  could  you  have  done  so  it  might 
have  gone  hard  with  you,  for  of  course  they  would  have 
known  that  you  were  what  they  would  call  an  accomplice 
in  the  affair." 

"  I  will  go  on  if  you  like,  sir,"  the  boy  said, "  and  hide  some- 
where else,  so  that  if  they  track  me  they  will  not  find  you." 

"  No,  no,"  James  said,  "  I  don't  think  there's  any  fear 
of  our  being  tracked.  Indian  eyes  are  sharp;  but  they 
can't  perform  miracles.  In  the  forest  it  would  be  hopeless 
to  escape  them,  but  here  the  grass  is  short  and  the  ground 
dry,  and  without  boots  we  cannot  have  left  any  tracks  that 
would  be  followed,  especially  as  bodies  of  French  troops 


342  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

have  been  marching  backward  and  forward  along  the  edge 
of  these  heights  for  the  last  fortnight.  I  won't  say  that  it 
is  impossible  that  they  can  find  us,  but  it  will  not  be  by 
our  tracks.  Now,  come  down  to  this  bush  where  I  was 
lying,  we  will  wait  there  till  daylight  breaks;  it  is  as  far 
down  as  I  dare  go  by  this  light,  but  when  we  can  see  we 
will  find  a  safer  place  further  down." 

Cautiously  they  made  their  way  down  to  a  clump  of 
bushes  twenty  feet  below  the  edge,  and  there,  lying  down, 
dozed  until  it  became  light  enough  to  see  the  ground. 
The  slope  was  very  steep,  but  bushes  grew  here  and  there 
upon  it,  and  by  means  of  these  and  projecting  rocks  they 
worked  their  way  down  some  thirty  feet  lower,  and  then 
sat  down  among  some  bushes  which  screened  them  from 
the  sight  of  any  one  who  might  be  passing  along  the  edge 
of  the  river,  while  the  steep  slope  effectually  hid  them 
form  any  one  moving  along  above. 

"  Is  there  any  signature  to  that  letter  ? "  James  asked 
presently. 

The  midshipman  took  the  piece  of  paper  out  and  looked 
at  it. 

-  "  No,  there  is  no  signature,"  he  said ;  "  but  I  know  the 
handwriting.    I  have  seen  it  in  orders  over  and  over  again." 

James  was  silent  a  few  minutes. 

"I  won't  ask  you  who  it  is,  though  I  fear  I  know  too 
well.  Look  here,  Middleton,  I  should  like  you  to  tear  that 
letter  up  and  say  no  more  about  it." 

"  No,  sir,"  the  boy  said,  putting  the  paper  in  his  pocket, 
"I  can't  do  that.  Of  course  I  am  under  your  orders  for 
this  expedition;  but  this  is  not  an  affair  in  which  I  con- 
sider that  I  am  bound  to  obey  you.  This  concerns  the 
honor  of  the  officers  of  my  ship,  and  I  should  not  be  doing 
my  duty  if  I  did  not,  upon  my  return,  place  this  letter  in 
the  hands  of  the  captain.  A  man  who  would  betray  the 
general's  plans  to  the  enemy  would  betray  the  ship,  and  I 


THE   "WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  343 

should  be  a  traitor  myself  if  I  did  not  inform  the  captain. 
I  am  sorry,  awfully  sorry,  that  this  should  happen  to  an 
officer  of  the  Sutherland;  but  it  will  be  for  the  captain  to 
decide  whether  he  will  make  it  public  or  not.  There  is 
one  thing,  if  it  was  to  be  any  one  I  would  rather  that  it 
was  he  than  any  one  else,  for  there  isn't  a  man  on  board 
can  abide  him.  No,  sir,  I  am  sorry,  but  I  cannot  give  up 
the  letter,  and  even  if  you  had  torn  it  up  when  you  had  it 
in  your  hand  just  now  I  should  have  reported  the  whole 
thing  to  the  captain,  and  say  I  could  swear  to  the  hand- 
writing.'' 

James  was  silent.  The  boy  was  right,  and  was  only 
doing  his  duty  in  determining  to  denounce  the  act  of  gross 
treachery  which  had  been  perpetrated.  He  was  deeply 
grieved,  however,  to  think  of  the  consequences  of  the  dis- 
covery, and  especially  of  the  blow  that  it  would  be  to  the 
squire  to  hear  that  his  nephew  was  a  traitor,  and  indeed  a 
murderer  at  heart,  for  had  not  his  flight  taken  place  before 
the  discovery  was  made  he  would  certainly  have  been  exe- 
cuted as  a  spy. 

The  day  passed  quietly.  That  the  Indians  were  search- 
ing for  him  far  and  wide  James  Walsham  had  no  doubt, 
and  indeed  from  their  hiding-place  he  saw  several  parties 
of  redskins  moving  along  on  the  river  bank  carefully  ex- 
amining the  ground. 

"It's  lucky  we  didn't  move  along  there,"  he  said  to  his 
companion,  "for  the  ground  is  so  soft  that  they  would  as- 
suredly have  found  our  tracks.  I  expect  that  they  think 
it  possible  that  we  may  have  been  taken  off  in  a  boat  dur- 
ing the  night." 

"  I  hope  they  will  keep  on  thinking  so,"  the  midship- 
man said,  "  then  they  will  give  up  looking  for  us." 

"They  won't  do  that,"  James  replied;  "for  they  will  be 
sure  that  they  must  have  seen  our  tracks  had  we  passed 
along  that  muddy  bank.     Fortunately  they  have  no  clue 


344  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

to  where  we  really  are.  We  might  have  gone  east,  west,  or 
north,  and  the  country  is  so  covered  with  bush  that  any- 
thing like  a  regular  search  is  absolutely  impossible." 

"  I  hope  we  ain't  going  to  be  very  long  before  we  get  on 
board  again,"  the  midshipman  said,  as  he  munched  the 
small  piece  of  bread  James  served  out  to  him  for  his  din- 
.  ner.  "  The  grub  won't  last  more  than  two  days,  even  at 
this  starvation  rate,  and  that  one  bottle  of  water  is  a  mock- 
ery, I  could  finish  it  all  straight  off.  Why,  we  shall  be  as 
badly  off  as  if  we  were  adrift  at  sea  in  a  boat." 

"Not  quite  so  bad,"  James  replied;  "we  can  chew  the 
leaves  of  some  of  these  bushes;  besides  people  don't  die  of 
hunger  or  thirst  in  four  days,  and  I  hope  before  that  to  be 
safely  on  board." 

Not  until  it  was  perfectly  dark  did  they  leave  their 
'hiding-place,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  bushes  worked  their 
way  up  to  the  ascent  again.  James  had  impressed  on  his 
companion  that  on  no  account  was  he  to  speak  above  a 
whisper,  that  he  was  to  stop  whenever  he  did,  and  should 
he  turn  off  and  descend  the  slope,  he  was  at  once  to  follow 
his  example.  The  midshipman  kept  close  to  his  compan- 
ion, and  marvelled  how  assuredly  the  latter  walked  along, 
for  he  himself  could  see  nothing. 

Several  times  James  stopped  and  listened.  Presently  he 
turned  off  to  the  right,  saying  "  hush !  "  in  the  lowest  possi- 
ble tone,  and  proceeding  a  few  paces  down  the  slope,  noise- 
lessly lay  down  behind  the  bush.  The  midshipman  imi- 
tated his  example,  though  he  wondered  why  he  was  so 
acting,  for  he  could  hear  nothing.  Two  or  three  minutes 
later  he  heard  a  low  footfall,  and  then  the  sound  of  men 
speaking  in  a  low  voice  in  some  strange  tongue.  He  could 
not  see  them,  but  held  his  breath  as  they  -vere  passing. 
Not  till  they  had  been  gone  some  minutes  id  James  rise 
and  pursue  his  course. 

"  Two  Indians,"  he  said,  "  and  on  the  search  for  us.    One 


THE  "WINNING   OF   A   CONTINENT.  345 

was  just  saying  to  the  other  he  expected  when  they  got 
back  to  camp  to  find  that  some  of  the  other  parties  had 
overtaken  its." 

Another  mile  further  and  they  saw  the  light  of  several 
fires  ahead. 

"  That  is  a  French  battery,"  James  said;  "  we  must  make 
a  detour  and  get  to  the  other  side  of  it,  then  I  will  crawl 
back  and  see  if  there  is  any  path  down  to  the  river." 

The  detour  was  made,  and  then  leaving  the  midshipman 
in  hiding  a  few  paces  from  the  edge  James  crawled  back. 
He  soon  saw  by  the  fires  that  the  battery  was  manned  by 
sailors  from  the  French  fleet,  and  he  had  little  fear  of  these 
discovering  him.  Keeping  well  below  them  he  came  pres- 
ently upon  a  narrow  path.  Above  him  he  could  hear  a 
French  sentry  walking.  He  followed  the  path  down  with 
the  greatest  caution,  stepping  with  the  most  extreme  care 
to  avoid  displacing  a  stone.  He  found  the  path  was  ex- 
cessively steep  and  rugged,  little  more  indeed  than  a  sheep 
track.  It  took  him  half  an  hour  to  reach  the  bottom,  and 
he  found  that  in  some  places  sappers  had  been  lately  at 
work  obliterating  the  path,  and  that  it  could  scarcely  be 
considered  practicable  for  men  hampered  with  their  arms 
and  ammunition.  Another  half  hour's  work  took  him  to 
the  top  again,  and  a  few  minutes  later  he  rejoined  his  com- 
panion. 

"That  won't  do,"  he  said;  "we  must  try  again.  There 
is  a  path,  but  the  troops  could  scarcely  climb  it  if  unop- 
posed, and  certainly  could  not  do  so  without  making  such  a 
noise  as  would  attract  the  notice  of  the  sentinels  above." 

"  That  is  the  battery  they  call  Sillery,"  the  midshipman 
said;  "they  have  fired  at  us  over  and  over  again  from 
there  as  we  went  up  or  down  the  river.  There  is  another 
about  a  mile  further  on;  it  is  called  Samos." 

Upon  reaching  the  Samos  battery  James  again  crept  up 
and  reconnoitred.    The  way  down,  however,  was  even  more 


34(3  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

difficult  than  at  Sillery.  There  was  indeed  no  regular  path, 
and  so  steep  was  the  descent  that  he  doubted  whether  it 
would  be  possible  for  armed  men  to  climb  it.  Even  he, 
exceptionally  strong  and  active  as  he  was  and  unencum- 
bered with  arms,  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  making  his 
way  down  and  up  agaiu,  and  indeed  could  only  do  so  by 
grasping  the  trunks  of  trees  and  strong  bushes. 

"It  can't  be  done  there,"  he  said  to  the  midshipman 
when  he  joined  him  again.  "And  now  we  must  look  for  a 
hiding-place;  we  must  have  been  five  or  six  hours  since 
we  started,  and  the  nights  are  very  short.  At  any  rate  we 
cannot  attempt  another  exploration  before  morning." 

"  I  wish  we  could  explore  the  inside  of  a  farm-house  and 
light  upon  something  to  eat  and  drink,"  the  midshipman 
said. 

"  It's  no  use  wishing,"  James  replied ;  "  we  can't  risk 
anything  of  that  sort,  and  probably  all  the  farm-houses  are 
full  of  troops.  We  have  got  a  little  bread  left,  that  will 
hold  us  over  to-morrow  comfortably." 

"It  may  hold  us,"  Middleton  said;  "but  it  certainly 
won't  hold  me  comfortably.  My  idea  of  comfort  at  the 
present  time  would  be  a  round  of  beef  and  a  gallon  of  ale." 

"Ah !  you  are  an  epicure,"  James  laughed.  "  If  you  had 
had  three  or  four  years  of  campaigning  in  the  forest,  as  I 
have  had,  you  would  learn  to  content  yourself  on  some- 
thing a  good  deal  less  than  that." 

"I  might,"  the  boy  said;  "but  I  have  my  doubts  about 
it.  There's  one  comfort,  we  shall  be  able  to  sleep  all  day 
to-morrow,  and  so  I  shan't  think  about  it.  As  the  Indians 
did  not  find  our  tracks  yesterday  they  are  not  likely  to  do 
so  to-day." 

They  were  some  time  before  they  found  a  hiding-place, 
for  the  descent  was  so  steep  that  they  had  to  try  several 
times  before  they  could  get  down  far  enough  to  reach  a 
spot  screened  by  bushes  and  hidden  from  the  sight  of  any 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  347 

one  passing  above.  At  last  they  did  so,  and  soon  lay  down 
to  sleep,  after  partaking  of  a  mouthful  of  water  each  and 
a  tiny  piece  of  bread.  They  passed  the  day  for  the  most 
part  in  sleep,  but  the  midshipman  woke  frequently,  being 
now  really  parched  with  thirst.  Each  time  he  chewed  a 
few  leaves  from  the  bush  in  which  they  were  lying,  but 
derived  but  small  comfort  from  it. 

"  It's  awful  to  think  of  to-morrow,"  he  said  as  evening 
approached.  "Even  supposing  you  find  a  way  down  to- 
night it  must  be  midnight  to-morrow  before  we  are  taken 
off." 

"■  If  I  find  a  way  down,"  James  said,  "  I  will,  if  possible, 
take  you  down  with  me,  and  then  we  can  take  a  long  drink 
at  the  river;  but  at  any  rate  I  will  take  the  bottle  down 
with  me  and  bring  it  up  full  for  you.  The  next  place  to 
try  is  the  spot  where  we  saw  some  tents  as  we  went  up  the 
river.  There  is  no  battery  there,  and  the  tents  can  only 
have  been  pitched  there  because  there  was  some  way  down 
to  the  water.  It  cannot  be  more  than  half  a  mile  away, 
for  it  was  not  more  than  a  mile  from  Fort  Samos." 

"  Can't  I  go  with  you  ? "  the  midshipman  said,  "  I  will 
be  as  quiet  as  a  cat;  and  if  you  find  it  is  a  good  path  and 
come  up  to  fetch  me  down,  you  see  there  will  be  a  treble 
risk  of  being  seen." 

"Very  well,"  James  agreed;  "only  mind  if  you  set  a 
stone  rolling  or  break  a  twig  it  will  cost  us  both  our  lives, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  failure  of  our  expedition." 

"  I  will  be  as  quiet  as  a  mouse,  you  see  if  I  ain't,"  the 
midshipman  said  confidently;  "  and  I  will  try  not  to  think 
even  once  of  the  water  below  there,  so  as  not  to  hurry." 

Together  they  crept  cautiously  along  the  edge  of  the 
ridge  until  they  came  to  a  clump  of  some  fifteen  tents. 
As  they  approached  they  could  see  by  the  light  of  the  fires 
that  the  encampment  was  one  of  Canadian  troops.  James 
had  not  intended  to  move  forward  until  all  were  asleep, 


348  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

but  the  men  were  all  chatting  round  the  fires,  and  it  did 
not  seem  to  him  that  a  sentry  had  as  yet  been  placed  on 
the  edge  of  the  descent.  He  therefore  crept  forward  at 
once,  followed  closely  by  the  midshipman,  keeping  as  far 
as  possible  down  beyond  the  slope  of  the  descent.  Pres- 
ently he  came  to  a  path ;  he  saw  at  once  that  this  was  very 
different  from  the  others — it  was  regularly  cut,  sloping 
gradually  down  the  face  of  the  sharp  descent,  and  was  wide 
enough  for  a  cart  to  pass.  He  at  once  took  his  way  down 
it,  moving  with  the  greatest  caution,  lest  a  sentry  should 
be  posted  some  distance  below.  It  was  very  dark,  for  in 
many  places  the  trees  met  overhead.  About  half-way  down 
he  suddenly  came  to  a  stop,  for  in  front  of  him  rose  a  bank 
breast-high. 

Here,  if  anywhere,  a  sentry  should  have  been  placed,  and 
holding  his  companion's  arm  James  listened  intently  for 
some  time. 

"  Mind  what  you  are  doing,"  he  said  in  a  whisper;  "this 
is  a  breastwork,  and  probably  the  path  is  cut  away  on  the 
other  side.  Fortunately  we  are  so  far  down  the  hill  now 
that  there  is  not  much  risk  of  their  hearing  any  slight 
noise  we  might  make.  You  stand  here  till  I  find  out 
what's  on  the  other  side." 

James  climbed  over  the  breastwork  and  cautiously  let 
himself  go  on  the  other  side;  he  fell  some  five  or  six  feet. 

"  Come  on,"  he  said  in  a  low  voice;  "  lower  yourself  down 
by  your  arms,  I  can  reach  your  legs  then." 

The  gap  cut  in  the  path  was  some  ten  feet  across  and 
six  feet  deep.  When  with  some  difficulty  they  clambered 
up  on  the  other  side  they  found  the  path  obstructed  by  a 
number  of  felled  trees,  forming  a  thick  abattis.  They 
managed  to  climb  the  steep  hill-side  and  kept  along  it 
until  past  the  obstruction,  then  they  got  on  to  the  path 
again  and  found  it  unbroken  to  the  bottom. 

"  So  far,  so  good,"  James  said.     "  Now  do  you  stop  here 


THE   WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  349 

while  I  crawl  forward  to  the  water.  The  first  thing  to  dis- 
cover is  whether  they  have  a  sentinel  stationed  anywhere 
near  the  bottom  of  this  path." 

The  time  seemed  terribly  long  to  Middleton  before  James 
returned,  though  it  was  really  but  a  few  minutes. 

"All  right!"  he  said  as  he  approached  him;  "there  is 
no  one  here,  though  I  can  hear  some  sentries  farther  up 
the  river.  Now  you  can  come  forward  and  have  a  drink., 
fortunately  the  river  is  high." 

After  having  satisfied  their  thirst  Middleton  asked: 
"  Where  are  you  going  now  ?  I  don't  care  how  far  we  have 
got  to  march,  for  after  that  drink  I  feel  ready  for  any- 
thing." 

"It  won't  do  to  hide  anywhere  near,"  James  said;  "for 
if  the  boat  which  comes  to  take  us  off  were  to  be  seen  it 
would  put  them  on  their  guard,  and  there  would  be  plenty 
of  sentries  about  here  in  future.  No,  we  will  keep  along 
at  the  foot  of  the  precipice  till  we  are  about  half-way,  as 
far  as  we  can  tell,  between  Samos  and  Sillery,  and  then  we 
will  climb  up  as  high  as  we  can  get  and  show  our  signal 
in  the  morning;-  but  you  must  be  careful  as  we  walk,  for 
as  I  told  you  there  are  some  sentries  posted  by  the  water's 
edge  higher  up." 

"  I  will  be  careful,  don't  you  fear,"  the  midshipman  said. 
"  There  is  not  much  fear  of  a  fellow  walking  about  in  the 
dark  without  boots  not  being  careful.  I  knocked  my  toe 
against  a  rock  just  now  and  it  was  as  much  as  I  could  do 
not  to  halloa.    I  will  be  careful  in  future,  I  can  tell  you." 

An  hour's  walking  brought  them  to  a  spot  where  the 
hill  was  rather  less  steep  than  usual;  they  climbed  up  until 
they  gained  a  spot  some  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
river,  and  there  sat  down  in  a  clump  of  bushes. 

"As  soon  as  it's  daylight  we  will  choose  a  spot  where  we 
can  show  a  signal  without  the  risk  of  its  being  seen  from 
below/'  James  said.    "  We  mustn't  go  to  sleep,  for  we  must 


350  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

move  directly  the  dawn  commences,  else  those  sentries 
below  might  make  us  out." 

At  daybreak  they  shifted  their  position  and  gained  a 
spot  completely  hidden  from  below,  but  from  which  an 
entire  view  of  the  river  could  be  obtained. 

"  Tide  will  be  low  in  a  couple  of  hours/'  the  midship- 
man said;  "there  are  the  fleet  below,  they  will  come  up 
with  the  first  flood,  so  in  three  or  four  hours  they  will  be 
abreast  of  us.     I  hope  they  will  make  out  our  signal." 

"  I  have  no  fear  of  that,"  James  replied ;  "  they  are  sure 
to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  for  it." 

Presently  the  tide  grew  slacker,  and  half  an  hour  later 
the  ships  were  seen  to  hoist  their  sails  and  soon  began  to 
drop  slowly  up  the  river.  When  they  ajiproached  James 
fastened  his  handkerchief  against  the  trunk  of  a  tree  well 
open  to  view  from  the  river  and  then  stood  with  his  eyes 
fixed  on  the  approaching  ships.  Just  as  the  Sutherland 
came  abreast  of  the  spot  where  they  were  standing  the 
ensign  was  dipped.  James  at  once  removed  his  hand- 
kerchief. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  Middleton,  you  can  turn  in  and  take  a 
sleep ;  at  twelve  o'clock  to-night  there  will  be  a  boat  below 
for  us." 

Two  or  three  hours  after  darkness  had  fallen  James  and 
his  companion  made  their  way  down  the  slope  and  crawled 
out  to  the  water's  edge.  There  was  no  sentry  within  hear- 
ing, and  they  sat  down  by  the  edge  of  the  river  until  sud- 
denly a  light  gleamed  for  an  instant  low  down  on  the 
water  two  or  three  hundred  yards  from  the  shore. 

They  at  once  stepped  into  the  river,  and  wading  out  for 
some  little  distance  struck  out  toward  where  they  had  seen 
the  light.  A  few  minutes'  swimming  and  they  saw  some- 
thing dark  ahead,  another  few  strokes  took  them  alongside, 
and  they  were  hauled  into  the  boat.  The  slight  noise  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  a  sentry  some  little  distance  along 


THE   WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  351 

the  shore,  and  his  qui  vive  came  sharply  across  the  water, 
followed  a  few  seconds  later  by  the  flash  of  his  gun. 

The  crew  now  bent  to  their  oars,  and  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  later  the  boat  was  alongside  the  Sutherland,  which 
with  her  consorts  was  slowly  drifting  up  the  stream.  Gen- 
eral Wolfe  and  the  admiral  were  on  deck  and  anxiously 
waiting  the  arrival  of  the  boat.  The  former  in  his  anxiety 
hailed  the  boat  as  it  approached. 

"  Is  Captain  James  Walsham  on  board  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  James  replied. 

"  Bravo,  bravo ! "  the  general  cried,  delighted.  "  Bravo ! " 
he  repeated,  seizing  James  Walsham's  hand  as  he  stepped 
on  deck.  "I  did  not  expect  to  see  you  again,  Captain 
Walsham,  at  least  until  we  took  Quebec.  Now,  come  to 
my  cabin  at  once  and  tell  me  all  about  it.  But  perhaps 
you  are  hungry." 

"I  am  rather  hungry, general,"  James  said  quietly;  "we 
have  had  nothing  to  eat  but  a  crust  of  bread  for  three 
days." 

"  We  who  are  we  ?  "  the  general  asked  quickly. 

"  Mr.  Middleton  and  myself,  sir.  He  escaped  after  I  had 
left,  and  joined  me." 

"  The  galley  fires  are  out,"  the  admiral  said,  "  but  you 
shall  have  some  cold  meat  in  my  cabin  instantly." 

James  was  at  once  led  to  the  cabin,  where  in  two  or 
three  minutes  food  and  a  bottle  of  wine  were  placed  before 
him.  The  general  would  not  allow  him  to  speak  a  word 
till  his  hunger  was  satisfied.  Then  when  he  saw  him  lay 
down  his  knife  and  fork  he  said: 

"Now,  Captain  Walsham,  in  the  first  place,  have  you 
succeeded — have  you  found  a  practicable  path  down  to  the 
river  ?  " 

"  I  have  found  a  path,  sir.  It  is  cut  in  one  place  and 
blocked  with  felled  trees,  but  the  obstacles  can  be  passed. 
There  are  some  Canadians  in  tents  near  the  top  of  the  path, 


352  WITH  WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

but  they  seem  to  keep  a  very  careless  watch,  and  no  sentry 
is  placed  at  the  bottom  or  on  the  edge  of  the  river  any- 
where near." 

"Admirable,  admirable ! "  Wolfe  exclaimed.  "At  last 
there  is  a  chance  of  our  outreaching  Montcalm.  And  you 
were  not  seen  examining  the  path  ?  nothing  occurred  to 
excite  their  suspicion  and  lead  them  to  keep  a  better  look- 
out in  future  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  James  replied,  "  they  have  had  no  suspicion 
of  my  presence  anywhere  near.  The  spot  where  I  was 
taken  off  was  two  miles  higher.  I  moved  away  in  order 
that  if  we  were  seen  swimming  off  to  the  boat  no  suspicion 
should  occur  that  we  had  been  reconnoitring  the  pathway." 

"  That  is  right,"  the  general  said.  "  Now  tell  me  the 
whole  story  of  what  you  have  been  doing,  in  your  own 
way." 

James  related  his  adventures  up  to  the  time  when  he 
was  joined  by  the  midshipman. 

"  But  what  made  Mr.  Middleton  escape  ?  "  the  admiral 
asked.  "  I  thought  that  his  instructions  were  precise  that 
he  was  to  permit  himself  to  be  taken  prisoner,  and  was  to 
remain  quietly  in  Quebec  until  we  could  either  exchange 
him  or  take  the  place." 

"That  was  how  he  understood  his  instructions,  sir," 
James  said ;  "  but  I  would  rather  that  you  should  question 
him  yourself  as  to  his  reasons  for  escaping.  I  may  say 
they  appear  to  me  to  be  perfectly  valid,  as  an  occurrence 
took  place  upon  which  it  was  impossible  for  Captain  Peters 
to  calculate  when  he  gave  them."  James  then  finished 
the  report  of  his  proceedings,  and  General  "Wolfe  expressed 
his  great  satisfaction  at  the  result. 

"  I  will  put  you  in  orders  to-morrow  for  you  brevet-ma- 
jority," he  said,  "  and  never  was  the  rank  more  honorably 
earned." 

The  admiral  rang  a  hand-bell. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  353 

"  Send  Mr.  Middleton  to  me.     "Where  is  he  ?  " 

"  He  is  having  supper  in  Captain  Peters'"  cabin/' 

"Ask  Captain  Peters  if  he  will  be  good  enough  to  come 
in  with  him." 

A  minute  later  Captain  Peters  entered,  followed  by  the 
midshipman. 

"  I  suppose,  Peters,  you  have  been  asking  young  Middle- 
ton  the  reason  why  he  did  not  carry  out  his  instructions  ?  " 

"  I  have,  admiral,"  Captain  Peters  said  gravely,  "  and  I 
was  only  waiting  until  you  were  disengaged  to  report  the 
circumstance  to  you.  He  had  better  tell  you,  sir,  his  own 
way." 

Capta  in  Peters  then  took  a  seat  at  the  table,  while  the 
midshipman  related  his  story  in  nearly  the  same  words  in 
which  he  had  told  it  to  "James.  When  he  told  of  the  ac- 
count the  Canadian  pilot  had  given  of  his  escape  the  ad- 
miral exclaimed: 

"  But  it  seems  altogether  incredible.  That  some  one  has 
unbolted  the  man's  cabin  from  the  outside  seems  manifest, 
and  it  is  clear  that  either  gross  treachery  or  gross  careless- 
ness enabled  him  to  get  free.  I  own  that  although  the 
sergeant  of  marines  declares  positively  that  he  fastened  the 
bolts,  I  think  that  he  could  not  have  done  so,  for  treachery 
seems  almost  out  of  the  question.  That  an  officer  should 
have  done  this  seems  impossible;  and  yet  what  the  man 
says  about  the  cabin  and  being  let  out  by  a  rope  would 
seem  to  show  that  it  must  have  been  an  officer." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  say,  sir,"  Middleton  said,  "  that  the  man 
gave  proofs  of  the  truth  of  wh&t  he  was  saying.  The  offi- 
cer, he  said,  gave  him  a  paper  which  I  heard  and  saw  the 
general  reading  aloud.  It  was  a  warning  that  Captain 
Walsham  had  purposely  allowed  himself  to  be  captured, 
and  that  he  was,  in  fact,  a  spy.  The  French  officer  in  his 
haste  laid  down  the  paper  on  the  table  when  he  rushed  out, 
and  I  had  just  time  to  creep  under  tne  canavs,  seize  it  and 
23 


35-1  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

make  off  with  it.  Here  it  is,  sir;  I  have  shown  it  to  Cap- 
tain Peters." 

The  admiral  took  the  paper  and  read  it,  and  handed  it 
without  a  word  to  General  Wolfe. 

"  That  is  proof  conclusive,"  he  said.  "  Peters,  do  you 
know  the  handwriting  ?  " 

"Yes,"  Captain  Peters  said  gravely.  "I  recognized  it  at 
once,  as  did  Mr.  Middleton.  It  is  the  handwriting  of  Lieu- 
tenant Horton." 

"  But  what  on  earth  could  he  the  motive  of  this  unhappy 
young  man  ?  "  the  admiral  asked. 

"  I  imagine,  sir,  from  what  I  saw  on  the  evening  before 
Captain  Walsham  set  out,  and  indeed  from  what  Captain 
Walsham  said  when  I  questioned  him,  that  it  was  a  case  of 
private  enmity  against  Captain  Walsham. " 

"  Is  this  so,  Captain  Walsham  ?  "  General  Wolfe  asked. 

"  I  have  no  enmity  against  him,  sir,"  James  said,  "  though 
I  own  that  his  manner  impressed  me  with  the  idea  that  he 
regarded  me  as  an  enemy.  The  fact  is  we  lived  near  each 
other  as  hoys,  and  we  had  a  fight.  I  got  the  best  of  it.  He 
gave  an  account  of  the  affair,  which  was  not  exactly  cor- 
rect, to  his  uncle,  Mr.  Linthorne,  a  wealthy  landowner  and 
a  magistrate.  The  latter  had  me  up  at  the  justice-room; 
hut  I  brought  forward  witnesses  who  gave  their  account 
of  the  affair.  Mr.  Linthorne  considered  that  his  nephew 
— whom  he  had  at  that  time  regarded  as  his  heir — had  not 
given  a  correct  account,  and  was  so  angry  that  he  sent 
him  to  sea.  I  would  say,  sir,"  he  said  earnestly,  "that 
were  it  possible  I  should  have  wished  this  unhappy  affair 
to  be  passed  over." 

"  Impossible ! "  the  admiral  and  general  said  together. 

"I  fear  it  is  impossible  now,  sir,"  James  said  gravely; 
"  but  it  might  have  been  stopped  before." 

"  Captain  Walsham  wanted  me  to  tear  up  the  note,"  the 
midshipman  put  in;  "but  though  I  was  awfully  sorry  such 


THE    WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  355 

a  thing  should  happen  to  an  officer  of  the  Stitherland,  I 
was  obliged  to  refuse  to  do  so,  as  I  thought  it  was  my  duty 
to  hand  the  note  to  you." 

"Certainly  it  was,  Mr.  Middleton,"  the  admiral  said. 
"  There  can  be  no  question  about  that." 

"I  wonder  that  you  even  suggested  such  a  thing,  Cap^ 
tain  Walsham,"  the  general  remarked.  "  This  wits  not  a 
private  affair.  The  whole  success  of  the  enterprise  was 
jeopardized." 

"It  was,  sir,"  James  said  quietly;  "but  you  must  re- 
member that  at  the  time  I  asked  Mr.  Middleton  to  tear  up 
the  note  it  had  ceased  to  be  jeopardized,  for  I  had  got  fairly 
away.  I  am  under  great  obligations  to  Mr.  Linthorne,  and 
would  do  much  to  save  him  pain.  I  regarded  this  act  not 
as  one  of  treason  against  the  country,  but  as  one  of  per- 
sonal enmity  to  myself,  and  I  am  sure  that  Lieutenant 
Horton  himself  did  not  think  of  the  harm  that  his  letter 
might  do  to  the  cause,  but  was  blinded  by  his  passion 
against  me." 

"  Your  conduct  does  credit  to  your  heart,  Captain  Wal- 
sham,  if  not  to  your  head,"  General  Wolfe  said. 

The  admiral  rang  the  bell.  "  Tell  Lieutenant  Horton 
that  I  wish  to  speak  to  him,  and  order  a  corporal  with  a 
file  of  marines  to  be  at  the  door." 

The  messenger  found  Lieutenant  Horton  pacing  the 
quarter-deck  with  hurried  steps.  On  the  receipt  of  the 
message,  instead  of  going  directly  to  the  admiral's  cabin 
he  ran  down  below,  caught  something  from  a  shelf  by  his 
berth,  placed  it  in  the  breast  of  his  coat,  and  then  went  to 
the  admiral's  cabin.  The  corporal  with  the  two  marines 
had  already  taken  his  station  there.  The  young  officer 
drew  a  deep  breath  and  entered. 

A  deadly  fear  had  seized  him  from  the  moment  he  saw 
the  signal  of  James  Walsham,  although  it  seemed  impossi- 
ble to  him  tiiat  his  treachery  could  have  been  discovered. 


356  WITH   WOLFE   IN    CANADA:   OR, 

The  sudden  summons  at  this  hour  of  the  night  confirmed 
his  fears,  and  it  was  with  a  face  almost  as  pale  as  death 
that  he  entered  the  cahin. 

"Lieutenant  Horton,"  the  admiral  said,  "you  are  ac- 
cused of  having  assisted  in  the  escape  of  the  pilot  who  was 
our  prisoner  on  board  this  ship.  You  are  further  accused 
of  releasing  him  with  the  special  purpose  that  the  plans 
which  General  "Wolfe  had  laid  to  obtain  information  might 
be  thwarted." 

"  Who  accuses  me  ?  "  Eichard  Horton  asked.  "  Captain 
Walsham  is  my  enemy;  he  has  for  years  intrigued  against 
me  and  sought  to  do  me  harm.  He  was  the  companion  of 
smugglers,  and  was  captured  by  the  Thetis,  and  had  the 
choice  of  being  sent  to  prison  and  tried  for  his  share  in 
the  killing  of  some  of  the  coast-guards,  or  of  going  before 
the  mast.  I  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Thetis  at  the  time, 
and  I  suppose  because  I  did  not  then  interfere  on  his  be- 
half he  has  now  trumped  up  this  accusation  against  me, 
an  accusation  I  defy  him  to  prove/' 

"You  are  mistaken,  Lieutenant  Horton,"  the  admiral 
said.  "Captain  Walsham  is  not  your  accuser;  nay  more, 
he  has  himself  committed  a  grave  dereliction  of  duty  in 
trying  to  screen  you,  and  by  endeavoring  to  destroy  the 
principal  evidence  against  you.  Mr.  Middleton  overheard 
a  conversation  between  the  Canadian  pilot  and  the  French 
general,  and  the  former  described  how  he  had  been  liberated 
by  an  English  officer,  who  assisted  him  to  escape  by  a  rope 
from  the  port-hole  in  his  cabin." 

"  I  do  not  see  that  that  is  any  evidence  against  me," 
Eichard  Horton  said.  "  In  the  first  place,  the  man  may 
have  been  lying;  in  the  second  place,  unless  he  mentioned 
my  name  why  am  I  suspected  more  than  any  other  officer  ? 
And  even  if  he  did  mention  my  name,  my  word  is  surely 
as  good  as  that  of  a  Canadian  prisoner?  It  is  probable 
that  the  man  was  released  by  one  of  the  crew — some  man, 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  35? 

perhaps,  who  owed  me  a  grudge — who  told  him  to  say  that 
it  was  I  who  freed  him,  in  hopes  that  some  day  this  out- 
rageous story  might  get  about/' 

"  Your  suggestions  are  plausible,  Mr.  Horton,"  the  ad- 
miral said  coldly.  "  Unfortunately  it  is  not  on  the  word 
of  this  Canadian  that  we  have  to  depend.  There,  sir,"  he 
said,  holding  out  the  letter;  "there  is  the  chief  witness 
against  you.  Captain  Peters  instantly  recognized  your 
handwriting,  as  Mr.  Middleton  had  done  before  him." 

Eichard  Horton  stood  gazing  speechlessly  at  the  letter. 
So  confounded  was  he  by  the  unexpected  production  of 
this  fatal  missive  that  he  was  unable  to  utter  a  single  word 
of  explanation  or  excuse. 

"  Lay  your  sword  on  the  table,  sir,"  the  admiral  said, 
"and  retire  to  your  cabin,  where  you  will  remain  under 
close  arrest  till  a  court-martial  can  be  assembled." 

Eichard  Horton  unbuckled  his  sword  and  laid  it  on  the 
table,  and  left  the  cabin  without  a  word. 

"It  would  have  been  better  to  send  a  guard  with  him," 
Captain  Peters  said;  " he  might  jump  overboard  or  blow 
his  brains  out." 

"Quite  so,  Peters,"  the  admiral  said;  "the  very  thing 
that  w  is  in  my  mind  when  I  told  him  to  retire  to  his  cabin 
— the  very  best  thing  he  could  do  for  himself  and  for  the 
service.  A  nice  scandal  it  would  be  to  have  to  try  and 
hang  a  naval  officer  for  treachery.  I  am  sure  you  agree 
with  me,  general  ?" 

"  Thoroughly,"  the  general  said;  "  let  him  blow  his  brains 
out  or  desert;  but  you  had  best  keep  a  sharp  look-out  that 
he  does  not  desert  at  present.  After  we  have  once  effected 
our  landing,  I  should  say  keep  as  careless  a  watch  over 
him  as  possible;  but  don't  let  him  go  before.  It  is  bad 
enough  that  the  French  know  that  Captain  Walsham  went 
ashore  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  a  landing-place;  but 
it  would  be  worse  were  they  to  become  aware  that  he  has 


358  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA. 

rejoined  the  ships,  and  that  he  was  taken  off  by  a  boat 
within  a  couple  of  miles  of  the  spot  where  wc  mean  to 
land." 

The  admiral  was  right.  Kichard  Horton  had,  when 
summoned  to  the  cabin,  hastily  placed  a  pistol  in  his  bosom 
with  the  intention  of  blowing  out  his  brains  should  he  find 
that  the  discovery  he  dreaded  had  been  made.  Had  the 
marines  posted  outside  the  cabin  been  ordered  to  accom- 
pany him,  he  would  at  once  have  carried  his  purpose  into 
execution;  but  finding  himself  free,  he  walked  to  his  cabin, 
still  determined  to  blow  out  his  brains  before  morning; 
but  the  impulse  once  past,  he  could  not  summon  up  reso- 
lution to  carry  his  resolve  into  effect.  He  would  do  it,  he 
said  to  himself,  before  the  court-martial  came  on.  That 
would  be  time  enough.  This  was  the  decision  he  arrived 
at  when  the  morning  dawned  upon  him  lying  despairing 
in  his  cot. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  QUEBEC. 

Ok  the  day  on  which  he  received  James's  report  "Wolfe 
issued  his  orders  for  the  attack.  Colonel  Barton  at  Point 
Levi  was  to  bring  up  every  man  who  could  be  spared  to  assist 
in  the  enterprise,  and  that  officer  accordingly  marched  to 
the  spot  indicated  for  embarkation  after  nightfall  with 
1,200  men. 

As  night  approached,  the  main  fleet,  under  Admiral 
Saunders,  below  Quebec,  ranged  itself  opposite  Beauport, 
and  opened  a  tremendous  cannonade,  while  the  boats  were 
lowered  and  filled  with  sailors  and  marines.  Montcalm, 
believing  that  the  movements  of  the  English  above  the 
town  were  only  a  feint,  and  that  their  main  body  was  still 
below  it,  massed  his  troops  in  front  of  Beauport  to  repel 
the  expected  landing. 

To  Colonel  Howe  of  the  light  infantry  was  given  the 
honor  of  leading  the  little  party  who  were  to  suddenly  at- 
tack Vergor's  camp  at  the  head  of  the  path.  James  Wal- 
sham,  knowing  the  way,  was  to  accompany  him  as  second 
in  command.  Twenty-four  picked  men  volunteered  to 
follow  them.  Thirty  large  troop-boats  and  some  boats 
belonging  to  the  ships  were  in  readiness,  and  1,700  men 
took  their  places  in  them. 

The  tide  was  still  flowing,  and  the  better  to  deceive  the 
French  the  vessels  and  boats  were  allowed  to  d^;J.t  upward 


360  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

for  a  little  distance  as  if  to  attempt  a  landing  above  Cap 
Bouge.  Wolfe  had  that  day  gained  some  intelligence  which 
would  assist  hiin  to  deceive  the  enemy,  for  he  learned  that 
a  number  of  boats  laden  with  provisions  from  Quebec  were 
coming  down  with  the  tide. 

Wolfe  was  on  board  the  Sutherland.  He  was  somewhat 
stronger  than  he  had  been-  for  some  days,  but  felt  a  pre- 
sentiment that  he  would  die  in  the  approaching  battle. 
About  two  o'clock  the  tide  began  to  ebb,  and  two  lanterns 
— the  signal  for  the  troops  to  put  off — were  shown  in  the 
rigging  of  the  Sutherland.  Fortune  favored  the  English. 
Bougainville  had  watched  the  vessels  until  he  saw  them 
begin  to  drift  down  again  with  the  stream,  and  thinking 
that  they  would  return  again  with  the  flood,  as  they  had 
done  for  the  last  seven  days,  allowed  his  weary  troops  to 
retire  to  their  camp.  The  battalion  of  Guienne,  instead 
of  encamping  near  the  heights,  had  remained  on  the  St. 
Charles;  and  Vergor,  an  incapable  and  cowardly  officer, 
had  gone  quietly  to  bed,  and  had  allowed  a  number  of  the 
Canadians  under  him  to  go  away  to  their  village  to  assist 
in  getting  in  the  harvest. 

For  two  hours  the  English  boats  drifted  down  with  the 
stream.  As  they  neared  their  destination  they  were  sud- 
denly challenged  by  a  French  sentry.  An  officer  who  spoke 
the  language  replied,  "  France." 

"A  quel  regiment  ?  " 

"  De  la  reine,"  the  officer  replied,  knowing  that  a  part 
of  that  regiment  was  with  Bougainville.  The  sentry,  be- 
lieving that  they  were  the  expected  provision  boats,  allowed 
them  to  pass  on. 

A  few  hundred  yards  further  another  sentry  challenged 
them.  The  same  officer  replied  in  French,  "  Provision 
boats.  Don't  make  a  noise;  the  English  will  hear  us."  A 
few  minutes  later  the  boats  rowed  up  to  the  strand  at  the 
foot  of  the  heights.     Vergor  had  placed  no  sentry  on  the 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  361 

shore,  and  the  troops  landed  unchallenged.  Guided  by 
James  Walsham,  Colonel  Howe,  with  his  twenty-four  vol- 
unteers, led  the  way.  As  silently  as  they  could  they  moved 
up  the  pathway  until  they  gained  the  top  and  saw  before 
them  the  outline  of  the  tents.  They  went  at  them  with  a 
rush.  Vergor  leaped  from  his  bed  and  tried  to  run  off,  but 
was  shot  in  the  heel  and  captured.  His  men,  taken  by 
surprise,  made  little  resistance.  One  or  two  were  caught, 
but  the  rest  fled. 

The  main  body  of  the  troops  were  waiting  for  the  most 
part  in  the  boats  by  the  edge  of  the  bank.  Not  a  word 
was  spoken  as  the  men  listened  almost  breathlessly  for  a 
sound  which  would  tell  them  whether  the  enterprise  had 
succeeded.  Suddenly  the  stillness  was  broken  by  the  mus- 
ketry on  the  top  of  the  heights,  followed  by  a  loud  British 
cheer.  Then  all  leaped  from  the  boats,  and  each  man,  with 
his  musket  slung  at  his  back,  scaled  the  rocks  as  best  he 
might.  The  narrow  path  had  been  made  impassable  by 
trenches  and  abattis,  but  the  obstructions  were  soon  cleared 
away  and  the  stream  of  soldiers  poured  steadily  up. 

As  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  had  gained  the  plateau 
strong  parties  were  sent  off  to  seize  the  batteries  at  Samos 
and  Sillery,  which  had  just  opened  fire  upon  the  boats  and 
ships.  This  was  easily  done,  and  the  English  footing  on 
the  plateau  was  assured.  As  fast  as  the  boats  were  emptied 
of  the  men  they  rowed  back  to  the  ships  to  fetch  more, 
and  the  whole  force  was  soon  on  shore.  The  day  began  to 
break  a  few  minutes  after  the  advanced  troops  had  gained 
the  heights,  and  before  it  was  fairly  daylight  all  the  first 
party  were  drawn  up  in  line  ready  to  resist  attack;  but  no 
enemy  was  in  sight.  A  body  of  Canadians  who  had  sallied 
from  the  town  on  hearing  the  firing,  and  moved  along  the 
strand  toward  the  landing-place,  had  been  quickly  driven 
back,  and  for  the  present  no  other  sign  of  the  enemy  was 
to  be  seen. 


362  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

Wolfe  reconnoitred  the  ground,  and  found  a  suitable  place 
for  a  battle  at  a  spot  known  as  the  Plains  of  Abraham, 
from  a  pilot  of  that  name  who  had  owned  a  piece  of  land 
there  in  the  early  days  of  the  colony.  It  was  a  tract  of 
grass,  with  some  corn-fields  here  and  there,  and  studded 
by  clumps  of  bushes.  On  the  south  it  was  bounded  by 
the  steep  fall  down  to  the  St.  Lawrence;  on  the  north  it 
sloped  gradually  down  to  the  St.  Charles. 

Wolfe  led  his  troops  to  this  spot  and  formed  them  in 
line  across  the  plateau  and  facing  the  city.  The  right 
wing  rested  on  the  edge  of  the  height  along  the  St.  Law- 
rence, but  the  left  did  not  extend  far  enough  to  reach  the 
slopes  down  to  the  St.  Charles.  To  prevent  being  out- 
flanked on  this  wing  Brigadier  Townshend  was  stationed 
here  with  two  battalions  drawn  up  at  right  angles  to  the 
rest  and  facing  the  St.  Charles.  Webb's  regiment  formed 
the  reserve,  the  3d  battalion  of  Eoyal  Americans  were  left 
to  guard  the  landing,  and  Howe's  light  infantry  occupied 
a  wood  far  in  the  rear  of  the  force  to  check  Bougainville 
should  he  approach  from  that  direction.  Wolfe  with  his 
three  brigadiers  commanded  the  main  body,  which,  when 
all  the  troops  had  arrived,  numbered  less  than  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  men. 

Quebec  was  less  than  a  mile  distant  from  the  spot  where 
the  troops  were  posted  in  order  of  battle,  but  an  interven- 
ing ridge  hid  it  from  the  sight  of  the  troops.  At  six  o'clock 
the  white  uniforms  of  the  battalion  of  Guienne,  which  had 
marched  up  in  hot  haste  from  their  camp  on  the  St.  Charles, 
made  their  appearance  on  the  ridge  and  halted  there  await- 
ing reinforcements.  Shortly  afterward  there  was  an  out- 
break of  hot  firing  in  the  rear,  where  the  light  troops  under 
Colonel  Howe  repulsed  a  detachment  of  Bougainville's 
command  which  came  up  and  attacked  them. 

Montcalm  had  been  on  the  alert  all  night.  The  guns  of 
Saunders's  fleet  thundered  unceasingly  opposite  Beauport, 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  3G3 

and  its  boats  hovered  near  the  shore  threatening  a  land- 
ing. All  night  the  French  troops  remained  in  their  in- 
trenchments.  Accompanied  by  the  Chevalier  Johnston,  he 
remained  all  night  in  anxious  expectation.  He  felt  that 
the .  critical  moment  had  come,  but  could  not  tell  from 
which  direction  the  blow  was  to  arrive.  He  had  sent  an 
officer  to  Vaudreuil,  whose  quarters  were  near  Quebec, 
begging  him  to  send  word  instantly  should  anything  occur 
above  the  town.  Just  at  daybreak  he  heard  the  sound  of 
cannon  from  that  direction.  This  was  the  battery  at  Samos 
opening  fire  upon  the  English  ships.  But  no  word  came 
from  Vaudreuil,  and  about  six  o'clock  Montcalm  mounted 
and,  accompanied  by  Johnston,  rode  toward  the  town.  As 
he  approached  the  bridge  across  the  St.  Charles  the  coun- 
try behind  the  town  opened  to  his  view,  and  he  presentkf 
saw  the  red  line  of  British  troops  drawn  up  on  the  heights 
above  the  river  two  miles  away.  Instantty  he  sent  John- 
ston off  at  full  gallop  to  bring  up  the  troops  from  the 
centre  and  left.  Vaudreuil  had  already  ordered  up  those 
on  the  right.  Montcalm  rode  up  to  Vaudreuil's  quarters, 
and  after  a  few  words  with  the  governor  galloped  over  the 
bridge  of  the  St.  Charles  toward  the  seat  of  danger.  It 
must  have  been  a  bitter  moment  for  him.  The  fruits  of 
his  long  care  and  watching  were  in  a  moment  snatched 
away,  and  just  when  he  hoped  that  the  enemy,  foiled  and 
exhausted,  were  about  to  return  to  England,  he  found  that 
they  had  surmounted  the  obstacles  he  had  deemed  impreg- 
nable, and  were  calmly  awaiting  him  on  a  fair  field  of  bat- 
tle. One  who  saw  him  said  that  he  rode  toward  the  field 
with  a  fixed  look,  uttering  not  a  word. 

The  army  followed  in  hot  haste,  crossed  the  St.  Charles, 
passed  through  Quebec,  and  hurried  on  to  the  ridge  where 
the  battalion  of  Guienne  had  taken  up  its  position.  Nothing 
could  have  been  stronger  than  the  contrast  which  the  two 
armies  afforded.     On  the  one  side  was  the  red  English  line, 


364  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

quiet  and  silent,  save  that  the  war-pipes  of  the  Highlanders 
blew  loud  and  shrilly;  on  the  other  were  the  white-coated 
battalions  of  the  regular  army  of  France,  the  blue-clad 
Canadians,  the  bands  of  Indians  in  their  war-paint  and 
feathers,  all  hurried  and  excited  by  their  rapid  march  and 
by  the  danger  which  had  so  unexpectedly  burst  upon  them. 
Now  the  evils  of  a  divided  command  were  apparent.  Vau- 
dreuil  countermanded  Montcalm's  orders  for  the  advance 
of  the  left  of  the  army,  as  he  feared  that  the  English  might 
make  a  descent  upon  Beauport. 

Nor  was  the  garrison  of  Quebec  available,  for  Bamesay, 
its  commander,  was  under  the  orders  of  Vaudreuil,  and 
when  Montcalm  sent  to  him  for  twenty-five  field-guns 
from  one  of  its  batteries  he  only  sent  three,  saying  that  he 
wanted  the  rest  for  his  own  defence.  Montcalm  held  a 
council  of  war  with  all  his  officers  and  determined  to  attack 
at  once.  For  this  he  has  been  blamed.  That  he  must 
have  fought  was  certain,  for  the  English  in  the  position 
which  they  occupied  cut  him  off  from  the  base  of  his  sup- 
plies; but  he  might  have  waited  for  a  few  hours,  and  in 
that  time  he  could  have  sent  messengers  and  brought  up 
the  force  of  Bougainville,  which  could  have  marched  by  a 
circuitous  route,  and  have  joined  him  without  coming  in 
contact  with  the  English. 

Upon  the  other  hand,  Montcalm  had  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  thirty-five  hundred  men  he  saw  before  him 
formed  a  portion  only  of  the  English  army,  that  the  rest 
were  still  on  board  the  fleet  opposite  Beauport,  and  that  a 
delay  would  bring  larger  reinforcements  to  Wolfe  than  he 
could  himself  receive.  He  was,  as  we  know,  mistaken,  but 
his  reasoning  was  sound,  and  he  had  all  along  believed  the 
English  army  to  be  far  more  numerous  than  it  really  was. 

He  was  doubtless  influenced  by  the  fact  that  his  troops 
were  full  of  ardor,  and  that  any  delay  would  greatly  dispirit 
the  Canadians  and  Indians.     He  therefore  determined  to 


THE  WINNING   OF  A  CONTINENT.  365 

attack  at  once.  The  three  field-pieces  sent  by  Eamesay 
opened  fire  upon  the  English  line  with  canister,  while  fif- 
teen hundred  Canadians  and  Indians  crept  up  among 
the  bushes  and  knolls  and  through  the  corn-field,  and 
opened  a  heavy  fire.  Wolfe  threw  out  skirmishers  in  front 
of  the  line  to  keep  these  assailants  in  check,  and  ordered 
the  rest  of  the  troops  to  lie  down  to  avoid  the  fire.  On 
the  British  left  the  attack  was  most  galling.  Bands  of  the 
sharp-shooters  got  among  the  thickets  just  below  the  edge 
of  the  declivity  down  to  the  St.  Charles,  and  from  these, 
and  from  several  houses  scattered  there,  they  killed  and 
wounded  a  considerable  number  of  Townshend's  men. 

Howe  was  called  up  with  his  light  troops  from  the  rear, 
and  he  and  the  two  flank  battalions  of  Townshend  dashed 
at  the  thickets,  and  after  some  sharp  fighting  partially 
cleared  them,  and  took  and  burned  some  of  the  houses. 

Toward  ten  o'clock  the  French  advanced  to  the  attack. 
Their  centre  was  formed  of  regular  troops  only,  with  regu- 
lars and  Canadian  battalions  on  either  flank.  Two  field- 
pieces,  which  with  enormous  labor  the  English  had  dragged 
up  the  path  from  the  landing-place,  at  once  opened  fire 
with  grape  upon  the  French  line. 

The  advance  was  badly  conducted.  The  French  regu- 
lars marched  steadily  on,  but  the  Canadians,  firing  as  they 
advanced,  threw  themselves  on  the  ground,  to  reload,  and 
this  broke  the  regularity  of  the  line.  The  English  ad- 
vanced some  little  distance  to  meet  their  foes,  and  then 
halted. 

Not  a  shot  was  fired  until  the  French  were  within  forty 
paces,  and  then  at  the  word  of  command  a  volley  of  mus- 
ketry crashed  out  along  the  whole  length  of  the  line.  So 
regularly  was  the  volley  given  that  the  French  officers 
afterward  said  that  it  sounded  like  a  single  cannon-shot. 
Another  volley  followed,  and  then  the  continuous  roar  of 
independent  firing.     When  the  smoke  cleared  off  a  little 


3GG  WITH  WOLFE   IN  CANADA:   OR, 

its  effects  could  be  seen.  The  French  had  halted  where 
they  stood,  and  among  them  the  dead  and  wounded  were 
thickly  strewn. 

All  order  and  regularity  had  been  lost  under  that  terri- 
ble fire,  find  in  three  minutes  the  line  of  advancing  soldiers 
was  broken  up  into  a  disorderly  shouting  mob.  Then 
Wolfe  gave  the  order  to  charge,  and  the  British  cheer  min- 
gled with  the  wild  yell  of  the  Highlanders  rose  loud  and 
fierce.  The  English  regiments  advanced  with  levelled 
bayonets;  the  Highlanders  drew  their  broadswords  and 
rushed  headlong  forward.  The  charge  was  decisive,  the 
French  were  swept  helplessly  before  it,  and  the  battle  was 
at  an  end,  save  that  the  scattered  parties  of  Canadians  and 
Indians  kept  up  for  some  time  a  fire  from  the  bushes  and 
corn-fields. 

Their  fire  was  heaviest  on  the  British  right,  where  Wolfe 
himself  led  the  charge  at  the  head  of  the  Louisbourg 
Grenadiers.  A  shot  shattered  his  wrist.  He  wrapped  his 
handkerchief  around  it  and  kept  on.  Another  shot  struck 
him,  but  he  still  advanced.  When  a  third  pierced  his  breast 
he  staggered  and  sat  down.  Tm  o  or  three  officers  and  men 
carried  him  to  the  rear,  and  thee  laid  him  down  and  asked 
if  they  should  send  for  a  surgeoi  . 

"  There  is  no  need/'  he  said.  "  It  is  all  over  with 
me." 

A  moment  later  one  of  those  standing  by  him  cried  out: 

"  They  run,  see  how  they  run ! " 

"  Who  run  ?  "  Wolfe  asked. 

"The  enemy,  sir;  they  give  way  everywhere." 

"Go,  one  of  you,  to  Colonel  Burton,"  Wolfe  said;  "tell 
him  to  march  Webb's  regiment  down  to  the  Charles  Eiver 
to  cut  off  their  retreat  from  the  bridge  ;"  then  turning  on 
his  side  he  said : 

"  'Now,  God  be  praised,  I  will  die  in  peace ! "  and  a  few 
minutes  Liter  he  erpired. 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  367 

Montcalm,  still  on  horseback,  was  borne  by  the  tide  of 
fugitives  toward  the  town.  As  he  neared  the  gate  a  shot 
passed  through  his  body.  It  needed  some  hard  work  before 
the  Canadians,  who  fought  bravely,  could  be  cleared  out 
from  the  thickets.  The  French  troops  did  not  rally  from 
their  disorder  till  they  had  crossed  the  St.  Charles;  the 
Canadians  retired  in  better  order. 

Decisive  as  the  victory  was,  the  English,  for  the  moment, 
were  in  no  condition  to  follow  it  up.  While  on  the  French 
side  Montcalm  was  dying  and  his  second  in  command  was 
mortally  wounded;  on  the  English,  Wolfe  was  dead  and 
Monckton,  second  in  rank,  badly  wounded,  and  the  com- 
mand had  fallen  upon  Townshend  at  the  moment  when 
the  enemy  were  in  full  flight.  Knowing  that  the  French 
could  cut  the  bridge  of  boats  across  the  St.  Charles,  and 
so  stop  his  pursuit,  and  that  Bougainville  was  close  at  hand, 
he  halted  his  troops  and  set  them  to  work  to  intrench 
themselves  on  the  field  of  battle.  Their  loss  had  been  six 
hundred  and  sixty-four  of  all  ranks,  killed  and  wounded; 
while  the  French  loss  was  estimated  at  about  double  that 
number. 

In  point  of  numbers  engaged  and  in  the  total  loss  on 
both  sides  the  fight  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham  does  not 
deserve  to  rank  as  a  great  battle,  but  its  results  were  of 
the  most  extreme  importance,  for  the  victory  transferred 
Canada  from  France  to  England.  , 

Vaudreuil,  after  joining  his  force  with  that  of  Bougain- 
ville, would  have  still  vastly  outnumbered  the  English; 
and  could,  by  taking  up  a  fresh  position  in  their  rear,  have 
rendered  himself  impregnable,  until  the  winter  forced  th& 
English  to  retire,  while  the  latter  had  no  means  of  invest- 
ing or  besieging  Quebec.  But  his  weakness  was  now 
as  great  as  his  presumption  had  been  before,  and  on  the 
evening  of  the  battle  he  abandoned  the  lines  of  Beauport, 
and  leaving  all  his  tents  and  stores  behind  him  retreated 


368  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA.   OR, 

hastily,  or  rather  it  may  be  said  fled,  for  as  the  Chevalier 
Johnston  said  of  it : 

"  It  was  not  a  retreat  but  an  abominable  flight,  with  such 
disorder  and  confusion  that,  had  the  English  known  it, 
three  hundred  men  sent  after  us  would  have  been  suffi- 
cient to  have  cut  all  our  army  to  pieces.  The  soldiers  were 
all  mixed,  scattered,  dispersed,  and  running  as  hard  as 
they  could,  as  if  the  English  army  were  at  their  heels.'" 

The  flight  was  continued  until  they  reached  the  impreg- 
nable position  of  Jacqnes-Cartier  on  the  brink  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  thirty  miles  from  the  scene  of  action. 

Montcalm  died  in  Quebec  the  next  morning.  Levis  soon 
arrived  at  Jacques-Cartier  from  Montreal,  and  took  the 
command,  an'd  at  once  attempted  to  restore  order,  and 
persuaded  Vaudreuil  to  march  back  to  join  Bougainville, 
who  had  remained  firmly  with  his  command  at  Cap  Rouge 
while  the  horde  of  fugitives  swept  by  him.  Vaudreuil, 
before  leaving,  had  given  orders  to  Eamesay  to  surrender 
if  Quebec  was  threatened  by  assault,  and  Levis  on  his 
march  to  its  relief  was  met  by  the  news  that  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  18th  Eamesay  had  surrendered. 

The  garrison  was  utterly  dispirited  and  unwilling  to  fight, 
the  officers  were  even  more  anxious  to  surrender  than  the 
men,  and  on  the  fleet  approaching  the  walls  Eamesay 
obeyed  Vaudreuil's  orders  and  surrendered.  Townshend 
granted  favorable  conditions,  for  he  knew  that  Levis  was 
approaching  and  that  his  position  was  dangerous  in  the 
extreme;  he  therefore  agreed  that  the  troops  and  sailors 
of  the  garrison  should  march  out  from  the  place  with  the 
honors  of  war,  and  were  to  be  carried  to  France,  and  that 
the  inhabitants  should  have  protection  in  person  and  prop- 
erty and  free  exercise  of  religion. 

The  day  after  the  capture  of  Quebec  James  "Walsham 
returned  on  board  ship.  The  thought  of  Eichard  Horton 
awaiting  the  court-martial,  which  would  assuredly  award 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  369 

him  the  sentence  of  death  for  his  treachery,  was  constantly 
in  his  mind.  He  remembered  the  conversation  between 
Captain  Peters  and  the  admiral  and  General  Wolfe's  words : 
"  I  should  say,  keep  as  careless  a  watch  over  him  as  possi- 
ble/' and  he  determined  if  possible  to  aid  him  in  making 
his  escape,  confident  that  in  the  general  exultation  at  the 
success  of  the  enterprise  no  one  would  trouble  greatly  about 
the  matter,  and  that  the  admiral  would  be  only  too  pleased, 
that  an  inquiry  should  be  avoided  which  could  but  end  in 
the  disgrace  and  execution  of  a  naval  officer.  James  was 
relieved  when  on  his  arrival  he  found  that  Richard  Horton 
was  still  in  confinement,  for  he  feared  that  he  might  bave 
carried  out  the  other  alternative  spoken  of  by  the  admiral, 
and  might  have  committed  suicide. 

"  Captain  Peters,"  he  said,  going  up  to  that  officer,  "  I 
should  be  obliged  if  you  would  give  me  an  order  to  ace 
Lieutenant  Horton." 

"Can't  do  it,  my  lad;  the  admiral's  orders  are  precise, 
nobody  is  to  be  admitted  to  see  him  without  an  order 
signed  by  himself." 

James  accordingly  sought  the  admiral's  cabin. 

"  What  do  you  want  to  see  him  for,  eh  ? "  the  admiral 
asked. 

James  hesitated,  he  would  not  tell  an  untruth  in  the 
matter,  and  yet  he  could  think  of  no  excuse  which  could 
answer  without  doing  so. 

"  I  want  to  see  him,  sir,  to  have  some  conversation  with 
him." 

"Ah!"  the  admiral  said,  looking  at  him  keenly,  "con- 
versation, eh !  You  are  not  going  to  take  him  a  pistol,  or 
poison,  or  anything  of  that  sort,  to  help  him  to  put  an  end 
to  his  wretched  existence  ?  " 

"No,  indeed,  sir,"  James  said  warmly. 

"  Humpb  !     You  are  not  thinking,  I  hope,"  he  said  with 
a  twinkle  of  the  eye,  "of  helping  him  to  escape  ?" 
24 


370  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

James  was  silent. 

"  Well,  well/'  the  admiral  said  hastily,  "  that's  not  a  fair 
question  to  ask.  However,  I  will  tell  you  in  confidence 
that  if  he  should  escape,  which  is  the  most  unlikely  thing 
in  the  world,  you  know,  no  one  would  be  particularly  sorry, 
and  there  would  be  no  great  fuss  made  about  it.  Every  one 
in  the  navy  here  would  feel  it  cast  a  slur  upon  the  service 
if,  at  a  time  like  this,  a  naval  officer  were  tried  and  shot 
for  treachery.  However,  if  it  must  be  it  must;  here  is  an 
order  for  you  to  see  him.  If  it  was  any  one  else  I  might 
have  my  doubts  about  granting  it,  but  as  you  are  the  man 
against  whom  he  played  this  scurvy  trick,  I  feel  safe  in 
doing  so.  There  you  are,  my  lad;  give  me  your  hand, you 
are  a  fine  fellow,  Major  Walsham,  a  very  fine  fellow." 

Immediately  upon  entering  Quebec  James  had  purchased 
a  large  turn-screw,  some  ten  yards  of  fine  but  strong  rope, 
and  three  or  four  bladders.  "When  he  procured  the  order 
he  went  to  his  cabin,  took  off  his  coat,  wound  the  rope 
round  his  body,  and  then  putting  on  his  coat,  placed  the 
flattened  bladders  under  it  and  buttoned  it  up,  slipping 
the  turn-screw  up  his  sleeve,  and  then  proceeded  to  the 
prisoner's  cabin.  The  sentry  at  once  admitted  him  on  pro- 
ducing the  admiral's  order. 

Kichard  Horton  was  lying  down  on  his  berth,  and 
started  with  surprise  as  his  visitor  entered. 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  come  to  see  me,  James  Walsham, 
for  I  have  been  wishing  to  speak  to  you,  and  I  thought 
you  would  come.  I  have  been  thinking  much  for  the  last 
two  days.  I  know  that  it  is  all  up  with  me;  the  proofs 
are  too  strong,  and  I  will  not  face  a  court-martial,  for  I 
have  the  means — I  know  I  may  tell  you  safely — of  avoid- 
ing it.  The  hour  that  brings  me  news  that  the  court  is 
ordered  to  assemble  I  cease  to  live.  When  a  man  is  at 
that  point  he  sees  things  more  clearly,  perhaps,  than  he 
did  before.     I  know  that  I  have  wronged  you,  and  when 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  371 

the  admiral  said  that  you  had  done  all  in  your  power  to 
shield  me,  I  felt  more  humiliated  than  I  did  when  that 
fatal  letter  was  produced.  I  know  what  you  have  come 
for — to  tell  me  that  you  bear  me  no  malice.  You  are  a 
fine  fellow,  Walsham,  and  deserve  all  your  good  fortune, 
•just  as  I  deserve  what  has  befallen  me.  I  think  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  squire  taking  me  up  I  should  never  have 
come  to  this,  but  might  have  grown  up  a  decent  fellow. 
But  my  head  was  turned;  I  thought  I  was  going  to  be  a 
great  man,  and  this  is  what  has  come  of  it." 
•  "  I  have  come  partly,  as  you  suppose,  to  tell  you  that  I 
bear  you  no  malice,  Kichard  Horton.  I  too  have  thought 
matters  over,  and  understand  your  feeling  against  me. 
That  first  unfortunate  quarrel,  and  its  unfortunate  result, 
set  you  against  me,  and  perhaps  I  never  did  as  much  as  I 
might  to  turn  your  feelings  the  other  way.  However,  we 
will  not  talk  more  of  that,  all  that  is  past  and  over.  I 
come  to  you  now  as  the  nephew  of  the  man  who  has  done 
so  much  for  me.  I  have  brought  with  me  the  means  of 
aiding  your  escape." 

"  Of  aiding  my  escape,  Walsham !  You  must  be  mad  S 
I  am  too  securely  fastened  here;  and  even  were  it  not  so, 
I  would  not  accept  a  kindness  which  would  cost  you  your 
commission  were  it  known." 

"As  to  the  second  reason  you  may  make  your  mind  easy. 
From  words  which  dropped  from  the  admiral  I  am  sure 
that  every  one  will  be  so  glad  at  your  escape  that  no  very 
strict  inquiry  will  be  made.  In  the  next  place,  your  fasten- 
ings are  not  so  very  secure.  The  port-hole  is  screwed  down 
as  usual." 

"Yes,"  Horton  said;  "but  in  addition  there  are  a  dozen 
strong  screws  placed  round  it." 

"  Here  is  a  long  turn-screw  which  will  take  them  out  as 
quickly  as  the  carpenter  put  them  in,"  James  said,  pro- 
ducing the  tool;  "and  here,"  and  he  opened  his  coat,  "is 
a  rope  for  lowering  yourself  down  into  the  water." 


372  WITH   WOLFE  IN   CANADA:   OR, 

"You  are  very  good,  James/'  Horton  said  quietly;  "but 
it  is  no  use,  I  can't  swim." 

"  I  know  you  could  not  as  a  boy,"  James  replied,  "  and  I 
thought  it  likely  enough  that  you  have  not  learned  since, 
but  I  think  with  these  you  may  make  a  shift  to  get  ashore," 
and  he  produced  four  bladders  and  some  strong  lashing; 
"if  you  blow  these  out,  fasten  the  necks  tightly,  and  then 
lash  them  round  you,  you  can't  sink.  The  drift  of  the 
tide  will  take  you  not  very  far  from  the  point  below,  and 
if  you  do  your  best  to  strike  out  toward  the  shore  I  have 
no  doubt  you  will  be  able  to  make  it.  You  must  lower 
yourself  into  the  water  very  quietly,  and  allow  yourself  to 
float  down  till  you  are  well  astern  of  the  vessel." 

Eichard  Horton  stood  for  a  minute  or  two  with  his  hand 
over  his  eyes;  then  he  said  in  a  broken  voice: 

"  God  bless  you,  Walsham,  I  will  try  it ;  if  I  am  shot  'tis 
better  than  dying  by  my  own  hand;  if  I  escape  I  will  do 
my  best  to  retrieve  my  life.  I  shall  never  return  to  Eng- 
land again,  but  under  a  new  name  may  start  afresh  in  the 
colonies.     God  bless  you,  and  make  you  happy." 

The  young  men  wrung  each  other's  hand  with  a  silent 
clasp,  and  James  returned  to  his  own  cabin. 

The  next  morning  the  officer  of  marines  reported  to 
Captain  Peters  that  the  prisoner  was  missing.  The  port- 
hole was  found  open,  and  a  rope  hanging  to  the  water's 
edge.     The  captain  at  once  took  the  report  to  the  admiral. 

"A  bad  job,"  the  admiral  said  with  a  twinkle  of  the  eye, 
"  a  very  bad  job !     How  could  it  have  happened  ?  " 

"  The  sentries  report,  sir,  that  they  heard  no  noise  dur- 
ing the  night,  and  that  the  only  person  who  visited  the 
cabin,  with  the  exception  of  the  sergeant  with  the  prisoner's 
food,  was  Major  Walsham  with  your  own  order." 

"Yes,  now  I  think  of  it,  I  did  give  him  an  order;  but  of 
course  he  can  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Horton 
must  have  managed  to  unscrew  the  port-hole  somehow, 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  373 

perhaps  with  a  pocket-knife,  and  he  might  have  had  a  coil 
of  rope  somewhere  in  his  cabin.  Great  carelessness,  you 
know.  However,  at  a  time  like  this  we  need  not  bother 
our  heads  about  it;  he's  gone,  and  there's  an  end  of  it." 

"He  could  not  swim,  sir,"  the  captain  said;  "I  heard 
him  say  so  once." 

"  Then  most  likely  he's  drowned,"  the  admiral  remarked 
briskly;  "that's  the  best  thing  that  could  happen.  Enter 
it  so  in  the  log-book,  '  Lieutenant  Horton  fell  out  of  his 
cabin  window  while  under  arrest  for  misconduct;  sup- 
posed to  have  been  drowned.'  That  settles  the  whole 
matter." 

Captain  Peters  smiled  to  himself  as  he  made  the  entry. 
He  was  convinced  by  the  calm  manner  in  which  the  ad- 
miral took  it  that  he  more  than  suspected  that  the  prisoner 
had  escaped,  and  that  James  Walsham  had  had  a  hand  in 
getting  him  off. 

Shortly  after  Quebec  surrendered,  Townshend  returned 
to  England  with  the  fleet,  leaving  Murray  in  command  of 
the  army  at  Quebec.  In  the  spring  Levis  advanced  with 
eight  or  nine  thousand  men  against  Quebec;  and  Murray, 
with  three  thousand,  advanced  to  meet  him,  and  gave  battle 
nearly  on  the  same  ground  on  which  the  previous  battle 
had  been  fought.  The  fight  was  a  desperate  one;  but  the 
English,  being  outflanked  by  the  superior  numbers  of  the 
French,  were  driven  back  into  Quebec  with  the  loss  of  a 
third  of  their  number. 

Quebec  was  now  besieged  by  the  French  until,  in  May, 
an  English  fleet  arrived  and  destroyed  the  vessels  which 
had  brought  down  the  stores  and  ammunition  of  Levis 
from  Montreal.  The  French  at  once  broke  up  their  camp 
and  retreated  hastily;  but  all  hope  was  now  gone,  the  loss 
of  Quebec  had  cut  them  off  from  France. 

Amherst  invaded  the  country  from  the  English  colonies, 
and  the  French  were  driven  back  to  Montreal,  before  which 


374  WITH  WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OK, 

the  united  English  forces,  17,000  strong,  took  up  their 
position;  on  the  8th  of  September,  1760,  Vaudreuil  signed 
the  capitulation  by  which  Canada  and  all  its  dependencies 
passed  to  the  English  crown.  All  the  French  officers,  civil 
and  military,  and  the  French  troops  and  sailors,  were  to 
be  sent  back  to  France  in  English  ships. 

James  Walsham  was  not  present  at  the  later  operations 
round  Quebec.  He  had  been  struck  in  the  side  by  a  shot 
by  a  lurking  Indian  when  a  column  had  marched  out  from 
Quebec  a  few  days  after  its  capture,  and  for  three  or  four 
weeks  he  lay  between  life  and  death  on  board  ship.  When 
convalescence  set  in  he  found  that  he  was  already  on  blue 
water,  all  the  serious  cases  being  taken  back  by  the  fleet 
when,  soon  after  the  capture  of  Quebec,  it  sailed  for  Eng- 
land. The  voyage  was  a  long  one,  and  by  the  time  the 
fleet  sailed  with  their  convoy  into  Portsmouth  harbor 
James  had  recovered  much  of  his  strength. 

An  hour  after  landing  he  was  in  a  post-chaise  on  his 
way  home.  It  seemed  strange,  indeed,  to  him  as  he  drove 
through  the  little  town  on  his  way  up  to  the  Hall.  He 
had  left  it  in  the  beginning  of  1755  a  raw  young  fellow  of 
eighteen;  he  returned  in  the  last  month  of  1759  a  man  of 
twenty-three,  with  the  rank  of  major  and  no  inconsiderable 
share  of  credit  and  honor.  He  stopped  the  vehicle  at  the 
lodge  gate,  had  his  baggage  taken  out  there,  and  proceeded 
on  foot  toward  the  Hall,  for  he  was  afraid  that  if  he  drove 
straight  up  to  the  door  the  sudden  delight  of  seeing  him 
would  be  too  much  for  his  mother. 

John  Petersham  opened  the  door,  and  recognizing  him 
at  once  was  about  to  exclaim  loudly,  when  James  made  a 
motion  for  him  to  be  silent. 

"Show  me  quietly  into  the  squire's  study,  John,"'  he 
said,  grasping  the  butler's  hand  with  a  hearty  squeeze, 
"and  don't  say  anything  about  my  being  here  until  he  has 
seen  my  mother.     They  are  all  well,  I  hope?" 


THE  WINNING  OF  A   CONTINENT.  375 

"All  well,  sir,  and  right  glad  they  will  be  to  see  you ;  for 
Mrs.  Walsham  and  all  of  them  have  been  fretting  sorely 
since  the  news  came  that  you  were  badly  wounded." 

"I  have  had  a  narrow  shave  of  it,"  James  said;  "but 
thank  God  I  am  as  well  now  as  ever ! " 

As  he  spoke  he  opened  the  door  of  the  study  and  entered. 

The  squire,  who  was  reading  the  paper,  looked  up,  and 
leaped  to  his  feet  with  a  cry  of  satisfaction. 

"My  dear  boy,  I  am  glad — thank  God  you  are  back 
again !  What  a  relief  your  coming  will  be  to  us  all ! "  And 
he  shook  James  warmly  by  both  hands.  "I  should  hardly 
have  known  you,  and  yet  you  are  not  so  much  changed 
either.  Dear,  dear,  how  delighted  you  mother  will  be! 
You  have  not  seen  her  yet  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  James  said.  "  I  dismissed  the  post-chaise  at 
the  gate  and  walked  up  quietly.  I  was  afraid  if  I  drove 
suddenly  up  the  shock  might  be  too  much  for  her." 

"Quite  right!"  the  squire  said;  "we  must  break  it  to 
her  quietly.  Wilks  must  do  it — or  no,  he  shall  tell  Aggie, 
and  she  shall  tell  your  mother." 

He  rang  the  bell,  and  John,  who  had  been  expecting  a 
summons,  instantly  appeared. 

"  Tell  Mr.  Wilks  I  want  to  speak  to  him,  John." 

The  old  soldier  speedily  appeared,  and  his  delight  was 
as  great  as  if  James  had  been  his  son.  He  went  off  to 
break  the  news,  and  in  a  short  time  Mrs.  Walsham  was  in 
the  arms  of  her  son. 

Major  Walsham  went  no  more  to  the  wars,  nor  did  he 
follow  his  original  intention  of  entering  the  medical  pro- 
fession. Indeed  there  was  no  occasion  for  him  to  do  either. 
For  Aggie  insisted  on  his  leaving  the  army;  and  she  had 
a  very  strong  voice  in  the  matter.  James  had  not  long 
been  home  before  he  and  the  young  lady  came  to  an  under- 
standing. Before  speaking  to  her  James  had  consulted  his 
old  friend. 


376  WITH   WOLFE  IN  CANADA:   OR, 

"  You  know  how  I  feel,"  he  said ;  "  but  I  don't  know 
whether  it  would  be  right.  You  see,  although  I  am  major 
in  the  service,  I  have  nothing  but  my  pay.  I  owe  every- 
thing to  the  squire,  and  he  would  naturally  look  very  much 
higher  for  a  husband  for  his  granddaughter." 

"Don't  you  be  a  fool,  James  Walskam,"  Mr.  TVilks  said. 
"I  made  up  my  mind  that  you  should  marry  Aggie  ever 
since  the  day  when  you  got  her  out  of  the  sea.  The  squire 
has  known  for  years  what  I  thought  on  the  subject.  You 
will  meet  with  no  opposition  from  him,  for  he  is  almost  as 
proud  of  you  as  I  am;  besides,  he  thinks  only  of  Aggie's 
happiness,  and  unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken  that  young 
lady  has  fully  made  up  her  mind  on  the  subject." 

This  was  indeed  the  case,  for  Aggie,  when  James  had 
settled  the  point  with  her,  made  no  hesitation  in  telling 
him  that  she  had  regarded  him  as  her  special  property 
since  she  had  been  a  child. 

"  I  considered  it  all  settled  years  ago,"  she  said  demurely, 
"and  I  was  quite  aggrieved,  I  can  tell  you,  when,  on  your 
arrival,  you  just  held  out  your  hand  to  me  instead  of — 
well,  instead  of  doing  the  same  to  me  as  to  your  mother." 

"  You  shall  have  no  reason  for  complaint  that  way  in  the 
future,  Aggie,  I  promise  you;  but  how  could  I  tell  ?  The 
last  time  I  saw  you  you  were  flirting  as  hard  as  you  could 
with  some  one  else." 

"  Well,  sir,  whose  fault  was  that  ?  You  chose  to  make 
yourself  disagreeable  and  stay  away,  and  what  was  I  to  do  ? 
I  should  do  the  same  in  the  future,  I  can  tell  you,  if  you 
neglected  me  in  the  same  way." 

"  I  shan't  give  you  the  chance,  Aggie,  you  can  rely  upon 
that." 

The  squire  was  fully  prepared  for  the  communication 
which  James  had  to  make  to  him,  and  as  there  were  no 
reasons  for  waiting  the  ceremony  took  place  very  shortly 
afterward.     The  squire  never  asked  any  questions  about 


THE  WINNING  OF  A  CONTINENT.  377 

his  nephew.  The  official  report  had  come  home  that  Lieu, 
tenant  Horton  had  died  of  drowning  while  under  arrest, 
but  the  squire  forbore  all  inquiry,  and  to  the  end  of  his 
life  remained  in  ignorance  of  the  disgraceful  circumstances. 
Perhaps  in  his  heart  the  news  was  a  relief  to  him.  He  had 
never  been  fond  of  Eichard  as  a  lad,  and  his  confidence 
once  shaken  had  never  been  restored.  He  had  intended 
to  carry  out  his  promise  to  leave  him  twenty  thousand 
pounds;  but  he  was  well  pleased  that  all  that  belonged  to 
him  should  descend  to  his  granddaughter.  Mr.  Wilks  was 
the  only  resident  at  the  Hall  who  ever  learned  from  James 
the  facts  of  Eichard  Horton's  disgrace.  Years  afterward 
a  few  lines  without  signature  or  address  came  to  James 
from  America.  The  writer  said  that  he  was  sure  that  he 
would  be  glad  to  hear  that,  under  a  changed  name,  he  was 
doing  very  well.  "  I  shall  never  return  to  England,"  he 
ended,  "  nor  ever  forget  your  kindness  and  generosity." 

The  marriage  of  the  young  people  made  but  few  changes 
at  the  Hall.  The  squire  proposed  to  give  Aggie  at  once  a 
sum  which  would  have  purchased  an  estate  in  the  neigh- 
borhood; but  he  was  delighted  to  find  that  she  and  James 
had  made  up  their  minds  that  the  party  at  the  Hall  should 
not  be  broken  up. 

"  What  do  you  want  to  send  us  away  for,  grandpapa  ?  " 
she  asked.  "  You  three  will  be  happier  for  having  us  with 
you,  and  James  and  I  will  be  happier  for  having  you  with 
us.  What  nonsense  to  talk  about  buying  another  estate ! 
We  might  get  a  little  house  up  in  London.  It  would  make 
a  change  for  James  and  me  to  spend  two  or  three  months 
every  year  there,  but  of  course  this  will  be  our  home." 

And  so  it  was  arranged,  and  so  matters  continued  until, 
in  the  lapse  of  time,  the  seniors  passed  away,  and  James 
Walsham  and  his-  wife,  and  it  may  be  said  their  children, 
became  the  sole  occupants  of  the  Hall,  the  estate  having 
been  largely  increased  by  the  purchase  of  adjoining  prop- 


378  WITH   WOLFE   IN   CANADA:   OR, 

erty  by  the  squire  before  bis  death.  James  Walsham  might 
have  represented  his  county  in  Parliament  had  he  chosen, 
but  he  was  far  too  happy  in  his  country  life,  varied  by  a 
few  months  passed  every  year  in  town,  to  care  about  taking 
part  in  the  turmoil  of  politics.  He  did  much  for  Sid- 
mouth,  and  especially  for  its  fishermen,  and  to  the  end  of 
his  life  retained  a  passionate  love  for  the  sea. 


THE  END0 


